by KJ Lauck | Jan 15, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
It was a battle of conference unbeatens, and it lived up to the hype, as the Lipscomb men’s basketball team (10-10, 2-1) took on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (14-5, 3-0). The Bisons fought back from two double-digit deficits in both halves but ultimately fell 84-80. Early on the Eagles dominated with their length and athleticism, getting deflections and forcing turnovers. They led the game 21-14. Christian Terrell and Demetris Morant led FGCU as they had 17 of the first 27 points. Both finished with double-figures, 15 and 14 points, respectively. For Lipscomb, sophomore Garrison Mathews led the way for the Bisons, with 10 points in the first half. However, the Bisons found themselves down 34-23 with less than six minutes remaining in the first half. The Bisons then found their stride and sprinted out to end the half on a 16-6 run to tie the game at 40 going into halftime. The run was fueled by Mathews, along with senior Josh Williams and a huge and-one opportunity converted by freshman Michael Buckland. “I was very pleased with their effort,” head coach Casey Alexander said. “I thought we played hard enough to win, and the desire was there.” Lipscomb took its first lead with a Williams three-pointer early in the second half, 43-42. The Eagles and Bisons traded baskets and the lead for the next few minutes. FGCU eventually used a 7-0 midway through the second half and took a nine-point lead thanks to Zach Johnson, who finished with 23 points. FGCU broke the game open after going back-and-forth with Lipscomb after its big run. The lead got...
by KJ Lauck | Dec 7, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The 138th Battle of the Boulevard did not disappoint as the Lipscomb Bisons fell to their arch-rival, Belmont Bruins, 78-76 during overtime in a sold-out Allen Arena. Lipscomb sprinted to an early 10-4 lead, thanks to threes by freshman Kenny Cooper and sophomore Garrison Mathews. The Bisons controlled the game early. The Purple and Gold fed off the energy of the home crowd. Mathews played with tenacity and passion, diving on the floor for loose balls and attacking the rim with back-to-back and-ones, converting on the second. “That’s the great thing about, Garrison he’s a tremendous competitor,” head coach Casey Alexander said. Junior Nathan Moran jumped into action hitting back-to-back threes, pushing Lipscomb to a 10-point lead midway through the first half, 19-9. The Bisons played smart and well-timed team defense throughout the first 10 minutes, holding the Bruins to just nine points. Belmont would use a big dunk to fuel a run as the Lipscomb lead stood at seven, 26-19, near the end of the first half. Moran hit another big three-pointer, which extended the Bison lead to 31-23 and then hit back-to-back free throws to give Lipscomb a 10 point lead, 33-23. Freshman Kenny Cooper made his presence felt as he sprinted down the court with five seconds left in the half and hit a layup with a half second left to give Lipscomb a 10-point lead once more. “That’s what he can do, and he’s a freshman,” Alexander said, “so he’s trying to figure it out, but these games right here help him grow up a lot.” Belmont came out of the half and scored six quick points to cut the lead...
by KJ Lauck | Nov 30, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons (1-6) fell to the rival Belmont Bruins (4-4) 100-62 on Tuesday night at Belmont’s Curb Event Center. Belmont outscored the Purple and Gold 27-10 in the first 10 minutes and never looked back, as the Bruins would pour on 16 three-pointers. “Too many points, too many easy baskets we gave up,” head coach Greg Brown said. The rival Bruins also had five players score double-digit points, including leading scorer Darby Maggard, who had 18. Lipscomb’s leading scorer was senior Alex Banks, who also had 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. “Being a senior that’s what we need the most from her,” Brown said. “She played very physical and played efficient inside.” Lipscomb looks to right the ship Saturday against Morehead State at 11 a.m. in Morehead, KY. Additional reporting and photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by KJ Lauck | Nov 13, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Lady Bisons (20-7, 12-2) clinched the #1 seed and a first round bye in the A-Sun Tournament by defeating the North Florida Ospreys (18-13, 8-6) in three sets during the regular season finale on Friday night in Allen Arena. Lipscomb also clinched its 6th A-Sun regular season title and its 9th season with at least 20 wins, while also extending its win-streak to 13 games. “It means a lot from the standpoint of the grind of regular season conference play,” head coach Brandon Rosenthal said. “It’s at least 10 weeks and a ton of pressure on those girls, but the pressure’s what we want.” Both teams came out with a lot of energy but the Lady Bisons, lead by the energy of senior Taylor Racich, took early advantage with a score of 12-6 in the first set. “Taylor’s got a heck of an arm – one of the best in the country,” Rosenthal said. “She’s coming off an illness and we encouraged her to get in a spot where she could bring that energy. “It was a huge difference maker, especially in the third set.” It was a hard-hitting rest of the set, as both teams fired off missile-like serves and spikes that led to kills and a 17-10 score. The Lady Bisons took the first set 25-15, pulling away from the Ospreys late in the set to take a 1-0 match lead. Freshman Lauren Anderson started the second set giving Lipscomb an early 5-0 lead. However, North Florida battled back to trim the Bison lead to 13-11 after some Lipscomb miscues. Still, Lipscomb was doubling North Florida in kills 32-15, assists 31-15...
by KJ Lauck | Nov 11, 2016 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports
Lipscomb basketball is officially here as the men’s team kicked off its 16th season Friday afternoon at noon in Allen Arena. The Lady Bisons will open their season with a game against Loyola (MD) tonight at 5 p.m. The following preview is a rundown of last season as well as predictions for both the men’s and women’s upcoming season. Last Season for men’s basketball Last year, Lipscomb finished 12-21 (7-7) and advanced to the A-Sun semi-finals as the number six seed. Lipscomb was beaten by Stetson 96-75. As a team, Lipscomb out-shot its opponents from the three-point line, making 331 to its opponents’ 305 made threes. The Bisons were led by leading scorer and senior point guard, J. C. Hampton (15.9 PPG) and leading rebounder freshman forward Eli Pepper (7.8 RPG), who was also third in the A-Sun in rebounding. Sophomore guard Nathan Moran led the team in assists with (4.6 APG). Outlook Subtractions: The Bisons lost J. C. Hampton and fellow senior forward Talbot Denny as both players transferred. Lipscomb will look to replace Hampton’s scoring. Denny redshirted last year due to injury. Additions: Four freshmen: guards Kenny Cooper, John Matt Merit and Michael Buckland and forward Kenny Bunton. One transfer: guard Matt Rose from Samford University. Coach Casey Alexander’s thoughts: “I don’t walk into this season, this year – at all thinking we’ve got holes.” “I think that we have depth. I think we have balance, and so that’s really the first time since we’ve been here that I knew that was the case.” “This is really the first time since we’ve been here that we’ve got...
