The Lipscomb men’s basketball team fell in Atlantic Sun semifinal 96-75 to Stetson Thursday night in Allen Arena.
The Bisons had trouble from the free throw line in the first half, as they shot 33 percent from the field.
The leading scorer for Lipscomb in the first half was sophomore George Brammeier with nine points. Freshman Garrison Mathews lead all scorers with 27 points — a career high for him on the year.
“I went through a six or seven game slump were it was just hard for me to make three pointers, but thanks to my coaches I was able to break out of it this season,” Mathews said. “I cannot wait to get back and continue to get some work on my three-point shot in the offseason.”
Stetson had an impressive shooting display, scoring 44 points in the first half.
The leading scorer for the Hatters in the first half was Derick Newton with 12 points. Newton finished with 25 points, which led Stetson for the entire game. Newton was one of four players in double figures for the Hatters.
Stetson finished the game as a team scoring 96 points.
“We did not have a great game,” said Casey Alexander, Lipscomb men’s head basketball coach. “I have to give credit to Stetson, though — they played a lot better than we did tonight. We never got in a defensive rhythm and they were able to take advantage of it.”
Lipscomb finished the season at 12-21 with a 7-7 record in the conference.
“I am a little disappointed the way we played this season,” Alexander said. “I feel like this team is better than the record showed by that can only be proven by the guys in the locker room. We just need to learn from this and come out strong next year.”
The Bisons will lose five graduating players. Alexander will bring back all of his main scorers including junior Josh Williams, who the team lost to an injury earlier in the season.
“We have a great nucleus coming back next season,” Alexander said. “We got guys that are made of the right stuff and have what it takes to be a winning Atlantic Sun team. Obviously we have things we need to work on before next season starts, but we are excited for the future.”
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics