No one knew for sure when the game would end. However, when it finally did, the Bisons were victorious.
In the 67th meeting between the two teams, the Bisons were able to squeeze out a 104-101 victory against Austin Peay State University.
It did not come easily, though. The game was tied 11 different times, and the largest lead by any team was nine points. That lead was part of an early first-half run by the Bisons. The largest APSU lead was seven.
The Governors held a steady lead for most of the second half with a few ties here and there, but the Bisons could never get on top and steal the momentum away from them.
That all changed when APSU missed two consecutive free throws with under seven seconds left, followed by senior Josh Slater taking the ball from one end of the court to the other for a game-tying layup.
The score at the end of regulation was 87-87.
Those 87 points were the most allowed by Lipscomb this season, and Coach Scott Sanderson let his players know that.
“Obviously we needed to get a stop,” senior center Adnan Hodzic said. “They are a great team with great forwards that can penetrate, and we just had to get one stop and the game was ours.”
The Bisons got that stop.
An early miss by Austin Peay let the Bisons take an early lead when Hodzic scored the first points of overtime. Hodzic went on to score six more in OT to lead the Bisons to the win.
“I am just playing my role,” Hodzic said. “I have told the team that I would never let them down and would never quit on them.”
Hodzic did not quit on the night, posting a single game high 33 points.
“It is my last year, and I have to go out and find something within me to push myself a little harder when I get tired,” Hodzic said. “We had to grow up and be men and show them we wanted it more, and that is what we did.”
The team never gave up, and neither did the fans inside Allen Arena.
Austin Peay showed up with many supporters, but the Bison fans did not allow them to take over their gym. The players took notice, too.
“The crowd was awesome,” Hodzic said. “When you do not hear them stop talking, screaming it is really great. Hats off to them for tonight. We want this every single game. The crowd was a big part of this win, and we could not have done it without them.”
To go along with Hodzic’s 33 points, he grabbed 16 rebounds–also a game high. Hodzic also went nine-for-nine from the free throw line.
The senior leadership definitely showed tonight for the Bisons tonight. Josh Slater, Jordan Burgason, and Hodzic all scored 19 or more points.
Slater had 22 points to go along with seven assists and eight rebounds. Burgason had 19 points, 15 of those coming from behind the three-point line.
The Bisons record now stands at 2-1, with their next contest coming against Baylor Monday night.