LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lipscomb and Liberty entered Tuesday’s contest with unblemished 7-0 ASUN records.
But the final score provided some clear separation between the league’s two best teams.
The Bisons dominated from start to finish, handing Liberty a 79-59 defeat at the Vines Center in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Lipscomb improved to 8-0 in conference play and took sole possession of first place in the ASUN.
“A 40-minute basketball game is going to have a lot of turns in it, but I felt like our players had the right mentality, Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “It was great to get off to a good start and really never let up.”
Senior guard Garrison Mathews went for 22 points and knocked down five shots from long range, including two that came from well beyond the NBA three-point line.
“Garrison’s in another world right now,” Alexander said. “But we’ve seen him do it a lot. What’s most impressive is he’s just doing it within the framework of the offense and he’s playing well every time he goes out there.”
Rob Marberry, the second half of Lipscomb’s two-headed monster, turned in a 14-point, five-assist performance, while senior Eli Pepper added 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Bisons (17-4) spread the ball around in the early going and jumped out to a 42-24 halftime advantage. Lipscomb shot 62 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, while Liberty, the nation’s 22nd-best three-point shooting team, went 0-for-9 from long range. The Flames rebounded with four three-point makes in the second half.
Marberry and guard Kenny Cooper did not play in Lipscomb’s 88-65 victory at Stetson on Sunday. Both players were bruised up in the Florida Gulf Coast game last Thursday, but they appeared to be at full strength against the Flames. Cooper finished with five points and three assists in 21 minutes.
Liberty showed improvement in the second half by scoring 35 points, but it had already fallen too far behind. Caleb Homesley (12 points) and Lovell Cabbil (11) both finished in double figures for the Flames.
“For the most part, we were in control,” Alexander said. “They had a couple of mini-runs, but it seemed like we answered every time.
“Once we slowed own offensively, we were good. We had a couple of erratic passes early.”
Lipscomb shot 55 percent (31-of-56) from the field, while Liberty made just 37 percent (22-of-59) of its attempts.
The Flames (18-5, 7-1 ASUN) will visit Nashville on Wednesday, Feb. 13 for a rematch with the Bisons. Barring any upsets, it’s possible that the two teams meet again in the ASUN championship in March.
“We’ve been playing well, but we’ve got a lot left to go, obviously,” Alexander said. We talked about that before this game. We knew it carried a lot of weight, but it’s still just one game.”
Lipscomb will return to Nashville to take on North Alabama (8-15) on Saturday, Feb. 2. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at Allen Arena. The Lions are off to a 5-3 start in the ASUN in their first season as an NCAA Division I school.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics