The Lipscomb men’s basketball team continued a poor run of form in a 65-73 loss to the Tennessee State Tigers Sunday afternoon at Allen Arena.
Down by 11 at the break and as many as 19 during the second half, the Bisons were unable to complete a last-gasp comeback effort to take down TSU.
“We’ve just got to be better in the first half,” point guard Will Pruitt said. “We had 10 turnovers coming out of the first half, and I for myself have just got to be better, and we’ve got to be better as a team.”
“We were fighting back in the second half, which is tough,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt, a redshirt freshman from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, led the Bisons in scoring with 14 points. Pruitt, who fouled out in the final minute of the game and committed four turnovers, added three steals for the Bisons and was a perfect 6-6 at the free throw line.
Senior forward Parker Hazen added 12 points and 6 rebounds for the Bisons. The former Iowa Western Community College and Valparaiso player went 2-5 from the 3-point line.
A pair of offensive weapons struggled uncharacteristically for Lipscomb on a night where almost nothing went right. Second-year freshman forward Jacob Ognacevic, the team’s leading scorer, put up just 7 points, while sharpshooting guard Greg Jones shot just 2-8 from distance and ended with 10 points.
As a whole, Lipscomb shot just 10-26 from the floor in the first half, while TSU shot an even 50%, going 16-32. The Tigers also shot 45% from beyond the arc, making 5-11 at the 3-point line.
Those shooting stats saw Lipscomb take a 39-28 deficit into the halftime break, but the situation only grew worse on both sides of the ball.
The Tigers, led by Christian Brown’s 19 points, were hungry all afternoon and used physical defense and high intensity to bully the Bisons inside. TSU outscored Lipscomb in the paint 44-22 and earned 36 rebounds to Lipscomb’s 27.
Contributing heavily for the away contingent from across town was graduate transfer guard Kenny Cooper in his return to Allen Arena. Cooper picked up 12 points and a game-high 9 rebounds in 32 minutes for the Tigers, going 5-7 from the free throw line.
Born and raised in Nashville, Cooper was recruited by Lipscomb and spent three years with the Bisons before transferring out of the program. He spent a year at Western Kentucky before transferring to TSU for his final year of eligibility.
“They came out and played good,” Pruitt said. “They shot pretty good from the field, had a high percentage, and I mean, they’re talented.”
“It’s a tough game when they’re playing more physical. We’ve just got be better–on rebounding, and in taking care of the ball.”
Despite the obstacles, Lipscomb found their way back into contention late in the game. The Bisons scored 8 straight to cut the lead to 9 with 4:49 to play, making the final five minutes interesting.
The two teams traded buckets until Jones knocked down a big three for Lipscomb, making the score 70-65. Lipscomb got a pair of stops, but Ognacevic picked up an offensive foul and missed a layup on consecutive trips, effectively ending the Bisons’ comeback hopes.
In an ironic moment, it was Cooper who picked up a steal in the game’s final action, picking off a pass from shooting guard Tommy Murr and sealing the 72-65 scoreline.
With the win, TSU improves to just 3-6 on the season and gets their second straight victory.
Lipscomb slumps to 5-6, suffering a fifth loss in their last six contests. They will look to flip the narrative Wednesday when they travel to Tallahassee, Florida to face the Seminoles of Florida State.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics