by Danny Kotula | Dec 3, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost a heartbreaking 67-62 decision to the Belmont Bruins in the Battle of the Boulevard Thursday evening at Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. With the loss, Lipscomb drops to 2-4, with all four of their losses coming away from home. This occasion was a much closer battle than the Bisons’ previous three losses, coming after Lipscomb led 30-23 at halftime. “We’ve had some games where I think we’ve done a little bit of overthinking and a little bit of doubting,” third-year head coach Lauren Sumski said. “We worked really hard to execute our game plan and this is the first time I’ve looked and and thought this was our team,” Sumski said. The Bisons played with a level of intensity and efficiency that hadn’t been seen much before today’s high-pressure environment at Belmont. The Bruins came in as one of the most highly-touted mid-major programs in the country coming off the back of a NCAA Tournament 2nd Round appearance last year. Despite their prowess and home court advantage, though, the Bruins were second best in the first half. Despite 16 points from sophomore guard Tuti Jones, Belmont struggled to make shots, and a balanced Lipscomb attack gave them issues. Down the stretch, though, it was foul trouble that would hamper the Bisons’ chances at the away win. Lipscomb took a 49-48 lead into the fourth quarter, but with four players at four fouls apiece, including three forwards, the Bisons were ill-equipped to deal with Belmont down low. The Bruins went on a 6-0 run midway through the final frame to take a 58-54...
by Danny Kotula | Dec 2, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
CHATTANOOGA – The Lipscomb Academy varsity football team won the BlueCross Bowl Division II-AA Tennessee State Championship over the Christ Presbyterian Academy Lions 27-0 Thursday morning at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. Senior quarterback Luther Richesson led the Mustangs to their first Division II-AA state title, going 16-for-18 in the air for 147 yards, a touchdown and an interception. A matchup rich with storylines brought together two teams with revenge on their minds: after CPA took down Lipscomb in last year’s state championship game, Lipscomb punished the Lions at home in a 38-0 drubbing to win the regular season title. This time around, it was a similar story in a completely new circumstance for the Mustangs in a high-pressure game at the home of the Chattanooga Mocs. “To see what they’ve done, the sacrifices they’ve made, to change a community and to see them get rewarded for it–because you don’t always get rewarded for it–I think they learned a valuable lesson,” head coach and former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer said. “If you do the right things, good things are eventually going to happen.” Partially due to the pressure, the two teams combined for 14 penalties, nine of which went against Lipscomb and three of which were false starts. “It took patience,” Dilfer said. “The penalties were killing us. We kept getting first-down penalties and we’re in second down and 20, second down and 24. I could have run it to punt, but I also wanted to be aggressive.” Tough defense was a recurring theme throughout the game, as Lipscomb’s experienced front seven continued to cause problems for the Lions....
by Danny Kotula | Nov 29, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team earned a competitive yet comfortable decision over the Kentucky Christian University Knights 86-67 Sunday afternoon. After a home win earlier this month over Division III Birmingham-Southern, Lipscomb improves to 2-0 against non-NCAA Division I opposition. The Knights are members of NAIA’s Appalachian Athletic Conference. Freshman forward Jacob Ognacevic paced the Bisons offensively with 27 points in 27 minutes, going 9 of 15 from the field and making 7 of 8 free throw attempts. A freshman Valparaiso transfer from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Ognacevic added 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists for the Bisons. He led the team in both points and rebounds for the afternoon. Alongside Ognacevic, junior guard Greg Jones made four 3-pointers en route to 17 points for Lipscomb, also adding 5 rebounds. Despite 5th-year junior center Ahsan Asadullah not suiting up for Lipscomb due to a minor injury suffered in a loss to Tennessee Tech last week, the Bisons controlled the paint, mostly via graduate student Parker Hazen. The Columbia City, Indiana-born forward contributed 6 of Lipscomb’s 12 points in the paint, ending with 12 points and 5 rebounds. “I’m happy with the team’s effort,” Hazen said. “Obviously, you look at a stat sheet like this, and there’s a lot of basketball things, but one thing you can’t put on a stat sheet is effort. So that’s something we’ll work towards; obviously, we play a great team on Thursday and [again] on Sunday.” Effort will be a key against Belmont and Chattanooga, both of which are top-tier mid-major programs and in-state rivals that will test the Bisons more than NAIA side KCU....
by Danny Kotula | Nov 29, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s basketball team took down the Life University Running Eagles 72-59 Sunday afternoon. Guards Blythe Pearson and Jordan Peete were the key to Lipscomb’s offensive output, combining for 7-10 3-point shooting and 30 total points. Pearson dropped in a season-high and team-leading 17 points, despite the sophomore wing from Murfreesboro having to play with four fouls for the majority of the second half. “Jordan [Peete] is a fantastic player,” Pearson, a junior shooting guard from Overland Park, Kansas, said. “The way she can drive to the basket definitely pulls the defense so that I get those open shots.” “When [Peete] decides to play aggressive, she’s hard to stop on both ends of the floor,” assistant coach Chris Sumski said. “The effort and competitiveness she played with on the defensive end carried over to the offensive end, so that was fun to watch today,” Sumski said. Both Pearson and center Dorie Harrison ended the third quarter with four fouls, but neither one lost their composure and fouled out for Lipscomb. “We always have to plan ahead of time; we don’t know how the refs are going to call anything,” Pearson said. “We have to control the controlables.” What the Bisons did control was a high-octane offensive display, highlighted by a 25-point 3rd quarter. On a night in which Life outscored Lipscomb in the paint and the two teams finished with equal rebounds, it took effective possessions and capitalizing on turnovers for the Bisons to pull ahead. Lipscomb held a 15-point advantage in points off turnovers, creating a significant advantage that they would go on to need. After a...
by Danny Kotula | Nov 18, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team handily defeated the Dayton Flyers 78-59 Wednesday night at a sold-out UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Over 13,000 Flyers fans crowded into the annual home of the First Four round of NCAA March Madness, and those sporting the red and blue of the home team were sent home disappointed by the visitors from Nashville. The Bisons earned the first points of the game with a bucket inside from senior center Ahsan Asadullah, and Lipscomb led from then on. Asadullah, hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, ended the night with a team-leading and season-high 21 points along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. “Mainly, it was patience, just taking my time,” Asadullah said. “They’re really athletic, good shot-blockers. I knew all of them were going to be pretty strong and able to push me off the block, but not letting them rush me and getting the shots that I want was the main thing.” Asadullah scored 12 points in as many minutes in the first half, pacing the Bisons offense with a 3-point dagger, four baskets inside the lane, and a free throw. His contribution led Lipscomb to a 10-point lead with 8:15 to play in the first half, and after both teams traded buckets in the remainder of the period, Lipscomb held onto its double-digit advantage with a 38-28 mark going into the break. The Bisons shot accurately all night long, but were especially efficient in the first half, going 15-23 from the field for a 65% shot rate. Meanwhile, the defensive side of the ball was equally successful, holding Dayton to an equal 38.5% rate...
