Led by Rob Marberry’s 22 points and 6 offensive rebounds in his first game as a Bison, the men’s basketball team beat down the Division III Sewanee Tigers 96-53 in an exhibition in Allen Arena Friday night.
“Marberry had a nice game,” head coach Casey Alexander said. “He was really efficient from the floor and rebounded the ball really well.”
Marberry transferred to Lipscomb from Western Kentucky University after the 2014-15 season and was forced to redshirt last year as a transfer.
The Bisons out-rebounded the Tigers 47-27 and scored 20 second-chance points. Alexander noted that Sewanee was built around the three-point shot, and that Lipscomb did a good job taking it away.
“Their best chance to stay in the game was to make a lot of threes. That’s really how they play and what they try to do,” Alexander said. “I thought we guarded the three-point line very well. We had hands up, and they went 5-for-22.”
Senior forward Josh Williams played his first game since tearing an ACL in December 2015, but finished efficiently, shooting 5-8 in the second half.
“We’re just glad to have Josh back out on the floor after being hurt last year,” Alexander said. “He had a little bounce in his step. He’s an important player for us so having him back…that was the best thing I liked seeing out of Josh.”
The Bisons’ 2014-15 scoring leader provided one of the only highlights of the second half with an emphatic rejection of Sewanee’s Taylor Howell at the rim.
Freshman guards Michael Buckland and Kenny Cooper played a combined 54 minutes despite not starting. Cooper played point guard, contributing mostly on the defensive end. Buckland added 9 points and 10 rebounds from the wing.
Junior sharpshooter Aaron Korn earned his third career start and tied a career-high with 13 points. Junior guard Cam Miller and sophomore forward Eli Pepper did not play.
Senior guard Jorden Williams led the Tigers with 13 points on 5-15 shooting. Sewanee opens the regular season at Emory on Nov. 15.
Lipscomb opens Division I play at Morehead State on Sunday. The Bisons return to Allen Arena on Nov. 13 against Piedmont at 6:30 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics