From Staff Reports

CHARLOTTE —  Livingstone’s 2014 CIAA champions thrived at the 3-point line with marksmen Mark Thomas and Jody Hill.

Now the Blue Bears are about size, power and attacking the rim. Livingstone made only three 3-pointers in Thursday’s CIAA tournament quarterfinal, but it amassed 44 points in the paint and hammered five dunks in an 83-69 win against Lincoln.

Hakeem Jackson had three slams for the Blue Bears (17-9), who advanced to a 7 p.m. semifinal showdown on Friday with Northern Division No. 1 seed Bowie State (22-7).

Bowie State crushed Chowan 87-64 on Thursday.

Livingstone (17-9) got 14 points and 16 rebounds from forward Eric Mayo and 12 points and seven boards from Jackson. All-CIAA guard Eric Dubose made only one 3-pointer but scored 20 points. Ty Newman scored 12 off the bench and Daryl Traynham added 10.

Jordan Watson led the Lions (16-11) with 14 points.

Livingstone shot 51.5 percent in the first half and raced to a 42-28 lead. Darresse Johnson made a 3-pointer for the Blue Bears  in the final seconds of the half.

Lincoln made one run at the Blue Bears in the second half and pulled within 64-56 with 6:50 remaining. But a dunk by Jackson, a three-point play by Dubose and a tip-in by Mayo pushed the lead back to 15.

Livingstone missed 15 free throws, going 28-for-43 at the foul line.

Livingstone lost its only meeting with Bowie State this season, falling 84-83 to the Bulldogs on Jan. 1.

Fayetteville State earned a ticket to the semifinals with a 93-72 win against Virginia State. The Broncos will play in a Friday semifinal at 9 p.m. against Winston-Salem State or Shaw.

Livingstone 83, Lincoln 69

LINCOLN (69): Watson 14, Burton 11, Aiken 11, Davis 10, Dorn 6, Sharp 5, Efese 5, Cole 4, Murphy 3.

LIVINGSTONE (83): Dubose 20, Mayo 14, Newman 12, Jackson 12, Traynham 10, Williams 5, Johnson 4, Henry 3, Harris 3, Cole, Flint, M. Johnson, C. Johnson.

Lincoln                    28   41 —  69

Livingstone            42    41 — 83