A reverse dunk from Eli Pepper and a behind-the-back assist from Nathan Moran to Garrison Mathews for a three-pointer punctuated the blistering 29-7 run that propelled the Lipscomb men’s basketball team to a 97-66, wire-to-wire win over the NJIT Highlanders in the first round of the ASUN Tournament.
Lipscomb opened up the game shooting 12-14 from the field, burying the Highlanders early and cruising to the finish. Sophomores Eli Pepper and Garrison Mathews in particular poured in 28 in the first period on 11-14 shooting. The Bisons finished the game shooting 61.3% from the field.
The win put Lipscomb at the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
Coach Casey Alexander said that the key to keeping the pressure on a team after running out to a big lead is simply trying to win each individual possession.
“We try really hard just to concentrate on the next possession and being solid, doing our job, and trusting that if we do that enough, then good things will happen,” Alexander said. “Over the course of time, that’s how you win a game like this, or even a close game.”
NJIT played without all-time leading scorer Damon Lynn, who tore his Achilles tendon in January.
Sophomore guard Reilly Walsh kept the Highlanders in the game in the first half with a pair of timely threes, and Tim Coleman dunked all over Mathews in transition to attempt to spark a comeback late in the half, but Moran and Josh Williams canned threes in the last two minutes of the first period to push the lead back up to 19 at the half.
“We’re a good team,” Williams said. “When we put it together, when we play like we believe we’re a good team, we’re pretty hard to stop.”
The second half saw the Lipscomb offense cool off slightly, but the Bisons were able to find enough easy baskets and free-throw opportunities to stay comfortably ahead of the Highlanders, even pushing the lead to as much as 33 with 2:53 left to play.
Mathews paced all scorers with an efficient 30 points, canning four of six three-point attempts and 11-15 overall field goals. Pepper hit his 13th and 14th threes of the season in the first half and finished with a season-high 14 points.
Center Rob Marberry also added 14 for the Bisons, and led Alexander’s squad in rebounding with eight. Moran rounded out the Bisons in double-figures, scoring 12 points with four assists.
Freshman forward Anthony Tarke put in 21 to lead NJIT in scoring, but 17 of those points came in the second period when the game was out of hand. Walsh finished with a career-high 14 points off of the bench, but fouled out late in the game.
Rob Ukawuba rounded out the Highlanders in double figures, adding 11 off the bench.
The Bisons were without junior center George Brammeier due to a foot injury, but they managed to hold Abdul Lewis to eight points, though he grabbed six offensive and 13 total rebounds. Lewis averaged 20.5 points in the previous two match-ups between Lipscomb and the Highlanders.
Lipscomb assisted on 21 of 48 baskets and only turned the ball over 12 times. NJIT, on the other hand, was forced into 19 turnovers while only assisting on 10 field goals.
The Highlanders’ season is over. Lipscomb will face off at home against the North Florida Ospreys on Thursday at 7 p.m. for a chance to advance to the ASUN Conference Championship.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics