by Lindsey Nance | Feb 12, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
The Bisons top tier offense continued to prevail as they landed their sixth straight win against Stetson on Saturday afternoon in Florida. Coming off of a win over No. 1 ranked FGCU, the new No. 1 seed Lipscomb (17-11, 9-2 ASUN) kept the momentum rolling as the team put together an offensive game to defeat the Hatters (10-18, 2-9 ASUN) 97-85 on their senior day celebration. “This was a great trip for us,” head coach Casey Alexander said. “We had to work really hard, especially in the second half when we settled down defensively. “I thought offensively we put maybe our best 40 minutes together. We really shared the ball well and shot the ball better than we’ve been shooting.” Stetson standout Luke Doyle stepped up for the Hatters nailing two pressured threes to put Stetson ahead early in the game. Alexander’s frustration was evident as he quickly pulled the starting five and replaced them with the remaining bench players. The substitution proved as an effective wake-up call for the starters as they went 7-for-8 from behind the three point line after subbing back into the game. Derick Newton added to the Hatters score with a few quick buckets for Stetson. Doyle continued to dominate for Stetson, notching in 11 points with 6:30 still remaining in the first half. The Bisons strong free-throw shooting came into play as Rob Marberry found his way to the line. The Hatters breached the gap in the score to tie the game and continued to hurt Lipscomb on the drive. After sinking ten 3-point shots, Lipscomb hit a drought and struggled to find the basket. The...
by Lindsey Nance | Jan 22, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team (11-11, 3-2 ASUN) fell short of a second half comeback as it was unable to slow the roll of the North Florida Ospreys (9-13, 4-1 ASUN). Things weren’t looking good for the Bisons right off the bat in the jam-packed arena as UNF jumped ahead 18-7 only six minutes into the first half. The Ospreys continued to dominate the half with their speed and ability to spread out the floor as they extended their lead to 14 after nine minutes of play. “I thought North Florida was the aggressor early,” Lipscomb head coach Casey Alexander said. “They played inspired and with great confidence, and because of it, they got out to a good lead. We were a little rattled, and they defended us well. It took as a long time to respond.” Josh Williams kept the Bisons alive by leading the way with 16 points in the first half, but the team was plagued with foul trouble in the first half, causing Lipscomb to pull players from the bench earlier than expected. North Florida’s Dallas Moore showed why he is the defending ASUN Player of the Year as he exploded in the first half, scoring 14 points consecutively and finishing the half with 20 points. The Bisons continued to fight their way back into the game although they were just 35 percent from the field and 5-of-22 on the court. The Ospreys controlled the first half offensively and defensively by spreading out the Lipscomb offense and forcing them to take quick and off-balance shots. The Bisons struggled to get second shots, and before you...
by Lindsey Nance | Jan 22, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
Things are looking up for the Lady Bisons as they grabbed their first ASUN victory against North Florida in UNF Arena Saturday afternoon. In a tight game with 16 lead-changes, junior Loren Cagle took matters into her own hands as she sliced through the lane with a couple of seconds remaining in the final quarter and nailed a game-winning layup to clinch the victory 60-58. The game was tied at 58, and the Lady Bisons were without their two leading scorers due to foul trouble. This game-winner gave Lipscomb a much-needed boost after a slow start to the season. The last time the Lady Bisons defeated an ASUN team was in 2015 against North Florida. Lipscomb started off the game strong, jumping ahead 14-11 in the first quarter. Shooting only 27% from the field, the Bisons hit some shots that had not been falling in previous games. The Lady Bisons were able to stretch out the Ospreys defense and play to their strengths, utilizing the fast-breaks they were given. Despite UNF’s height advantage, athleticism and length, the Lady Bison’s did an excellent job of sticking to their fundamentals and blocking out. The second quarter brought on a drought for Lipscomb. In addition to an almost scoreless quarter, Lipscomb was plagued by careless turnovers. This lapse in play allowed UNF to jump ahead 24-14. Coach Brown must have said something at the half that woke the women up because they came out hot in the third quarter. Alex Banks, who led with 22 points, broke the shooting-slump and fired in back-to-back threes that gave Lipscomb a spark. Banks was 4-4...
by Lindsey Nance | Nov 20, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The perfect word to describe the Bison’s play Saturday night is relentless, as the team came onto the court with a fiery will to win and a refusal to be defeated. The crowd was alive in Allen Arena for the second face off between Lipscomb and FGCU in an ASUN championship game. The Bisons went into the game 21-7. No. 3 seed FGCU was 27-5. “It is part of the program,” Rosenthal said. “Since 2007 we have been in every championship match except for one.” Although Lipscomb was the favored winner, the victory did not come easily. Lipscomb took sets one and two before falling in the third set. The Bisons rallied together to take set four in a nail biter 25-23. The Bison dominated the first set with hard hitting kills 25-16. The second set was back and forth with Lipscomb ahead most of the match all the way up to 16-14. Taylor Racich took control of the set with her legendary jump serve and pushed FGCU to a timeout to recoup. Carly Nusbaum and Maddie Phillips continued to read the defense flawlessly and find the gaps. Whereas FGCU tried to smack the fire out of the ball, Lipscomb played to FCGU’s weaknesses and tipped the ball within the gaps, forcing FGCU to scramble. The Bisons quickly took the momentum and refused to let any ball hit the ground. At 22-18, Brittany Thomas did her best to make contact on FGCU’s hard hits but was unsuccessful in controling the ball. Maddie Phillips finished off the Eagles with a hit straight through the middle that deflected off of FGCU’s...
by Lindsey Nance | Nov 19, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb already carried some hardware heading into Friday night’s matchup against No. 5 USC Upstate in the semifinal of the ASUN Conference Tournament in Allen Arena. The Bisons lived up to those expectations once again with a 3-0 sweep of USC Upstate. “A lot of it was just building the culture we wanted,” Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal said. “It is about the program as a whole.” The No. 1-seeded Bisons headed into Friday’s match with a number of recent accolades. Rosenthal was named Coach of the Year for the 3rd time along with multiple accolades for his players. Carlyle Nusbaum took the title of ASUN Player of the Year and unanimous First Team All-Conference selection; Kayla Ostrom received the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year for volleyball and a member of the All-Academic Team, and Taylor Racich, Brittany Thomas, Lauren Anderson, Morgan Elmore and Maddie Phillips received the honor of being Second Team All-ASUN selections. “We have put ourselves in a great position,” Rosenthal said. “If you look at the last five or six weeks, we have worked really hard to really find our identity.” After a grueling 5-set match last night, USC Upstate appeared to be out of gas and out of luck. This ASUN semi-final game was an elimination game, and the Bisons conquered the Spartans easily in three sets. The win allows the Bisons to clinch their fourth straight year in the ASUN championship game. Tonight’s starters, Anderson, Nusbaum, Phillips, Katie Bradley, Morgan Elmore, Chloe Rogers and Brittany Thomas played most of the night and put up scores of 25-19, 25-15 and 25-18. The first set...
