Lipscomb men’s basketball hasn’t been overly welcoming to the ASUN’s two new members.
The Bisons dispatched Liberty on Tuesday and then did the same with North Alabama on Saturday.
Behind six double-figure scorers, Lipscomb cruised to a 102-80 victory over the Lions at Allen Arena.
The Bisons improved to 9-0 in ASUN play (18-4 overall) to match their longest win streak since 2008-09. Their last loss was an 84-67 defeat at Clemson on Dec. 30.
“Glory goes to God, we’ve been playing well,” Lipscomb junior Andrew Fleming said. “I can’t ask for much more out of these guys, they’re playing hard.”
Senior guard Garrison Mathews led the way with 19 points, while Kenny Cooper had 16 points and six assists.
“[Cooper was] the biggest reason why we were so good early,” Alexander said. “He was involved and scored it on his own a couple of times. We’re a much better team when he’s making things happen.”
Fleming (15), Ahsan Asadullah (13), Rob Marberry (11) and Nathan Moran (11) also finished in double digits to push Lipscomb to its third 100-point performance of the season.
“The versatility for us on offense is important,” Alexander said. “We have a lot of guys that can pass, move and play off each other.”
Fleming’s 15 points set a new career high. The Iowa and Chattanooga transfer played at the prestigious Oak Hill Academy during his final year of high school and seems to be finding his groove with the Bisons. He has 31 points in his last three games after missing time in early January with an ankle injury.
“The biggest thing I’ve always been worried about is winning,” he said. “I just try to be ready when my number is called.”
Lipscomb came out hot in the first half by hitting eight of its first 10 three-point shots and 17 of its first 21 field goal attempts. The Bisons scored more points in the first half than they have in any half all season, taking a 64-36 lead into the break.
North Alabama got its offense going in the second half and outscored Lipscomb 44-38 in the final 20 minutes. But the Bisons led by as much as 37 with 10:51 remaining, an advantage too large for the Lions to overcome.
The Lions (8-16, 5-4 ASUN) had won five of their previous seven contests after struggling early in the season while making the transition to NCAA Division I basketball. Kendall Stafford led UNA with 18 points.
“They’ve got some good young talent,” Fleming said. “They’re going to be good in the days to come. We’re just a veteran team that knows how to play – it’s tough to beat us.”
Alexander said the team was inconsistent in practice following the Liberty victory, although they did play three games in a span of six days. Nonetheless, the Bisons were firing on all cylinders against UNA.
“I’ve learned to trust this team because we do have a lot of experience,” Alexander said. “They don’t need me to provide the motivation for them, but I would like them to be more consistent between games.”
Lipscomb will try to push its win streak to 10 games when it visits North Florida on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CT at UNF Arena.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Gilliam/Lipscomb Athletics