by Russell Vannozzi | Jan 13, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Senior guard Garrison Mathews is rewriting the Lipscomb basketball record books. Thanks to a 20-point performance against Stetson on Saturday, Mathews eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for his career and passed Adnan Hodzic (2,002) as the school’s leading scorer in the NCAA Division I era, which began with the 2001-02 season. “I struggled my freshman year, and I didn’t think I’d be at this point when I got here,” Mathews said. “I knew I had to work hard, and I did. I’ve got great coaches and teammates that have helped me along the way.” Senior forward Rob Marberry led all scorers with 23 points, and freshman Jake Wolfe emerged as an offensive threat with 16 points in Lipscomb’s 95-71 thrashing of the Hatters in front of 1,388 Allen Arena fans. “The scoring was really spread out, which was awesome to see,” Marberry said. “Teams don’t really know how to guard us. They can’t tell if it’s going to be one guy’s night or another player’s [night].” Lipscomb (12-4, 3-0 ASUN) started slow, and Stetson held a 19-18 lead after nine minutes of play. But the Bisons finished the final 10 minutes of the first half on a 38-11 run to take a 56-30 halftime lead and quell any concerns of a Stetson upset. “When you create a margin like that at halftime, you’ve obviously played well,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “I was not pleased with the consistency of play. I felt like we had a lot of breakdowns and it wasn’t really clean, but I’ll take it overall.” Mathews also set Lipscomb’s record for three-pointers in the NCAA era....
by Russell Vannozzi | Jan 10, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Eli Pepper etched his name in the Lipscomb basketball record books Tuesday night. The lanky post grabbed his 841st career rebound in an 81-66 victory over North Florida, surpassing Adnan Hodzic’s previous record of 840 boards. Pepper now stands alone as Lipscomb’s most decorated rebounder in the NCAA Division I era, which began with the 2001-02 season. “It took a lot of hard work,” Pepper said. “[The record] is not what it’s ever been about. It’s been a goal, of course. But it’s more about this team and taking last year’s history and doing better and going further.” The feat did not come easily. The Kentucky native struggled with consistency early in his career and has often been overshadowed by Lipscomb’s premier scorers like Garrison Mathews and Rob Marberry. But now, as a senior, coach Casey Alexander said that Pepper serves as a model of consistency and an example for the team’s younger players. “His effort is always there,” Alexander said. “The thing we can count on the most with Eli is him being ready and giving his best effort. You have a good player and the making of a good team when you have a lot of those guys.” Pepper’s night against the Ospreys included much more than just the rebounding record. He finished with 20 points and 11 boards for his third double-double of the season. He also hit a trio of shots from beyond the arc for the second-straight game. Pepper is shooting 42 percent (11-of-26) from long range this season. “I’ve told a lot of people that it’s taken four years,” Pepper said of his shooting...
by Russell Vannozzi | Dec 30, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
CLEMSON, S.C. – 2018 was a special year for the Lipscomb men’s basketball team. The Bisons won the ASUN tournament title, made their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and continued their mid-major relevance by starting this season 9-3. But their last performance of the year was one to forget. Lipscomb shot the ball poorly in the first half and committed a season-high 22 turnovers in an 84-67 loss to Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum Sunday. “Turnovers affected us in a big way, and I give [Clemson] credit for that,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander told LipscombSports.com. “Anyone who watches our team play knows [that] was uncharacteristic of us.” Senior guard Garrison Mathews led the Bisons with 19 points. He injured his left leg in the second half but returned seven minutes later and finished out the game with a noticeable limp. Clemson (10-3) used its size and speed to give Lipscomb fits throughout the game. The Tigers had 15 steals and six blocks on the defensive end, while guard Marcquise Reed (26 points) and forward David Skara (17 points) made their presence felt on offense in front of 7,879 fans. Lipscomb (9-4) outscored Clemson 40-38 in the second half, but the Bisons’ 19-point halftime deficit (46-27) was too much to overcome. Lipscomb shot just 38 percent (8-of-21) in the first 20 minutes. “We just needed to play better in the second half because we thought we could still win the game,” Alexander said. “We cut the margin significantly at the first media timeout just by being more solid and not making mistakes, but over the course of 40 minutes, Clemson was a lot better...
by Russell Vannozzi | Dec 25, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Jeffrey Passantino spent his minor league baseball season living out of a suitcase. In a span of three months, he moved from Arizona to Indiana to Oregon and, finally, back to Indiana. “One side is dirty, one side is clean,” he said of the makeshift dresser on wheels. His former Lipscomb teammates Brady Puckett and Lee Solomon had more stable living situations, at least by minor league standards. Puckett was with the Greensboro (N.C.) Grasshoppers for one month before he was promoted to the Jupiter (Fla.) Hammerheads, while Solomon headed west to Peoria, Arizona, after being selected by the San Diego Padres in June’s MLB Amateur Draft. “There are no complaints whatsoever,” Puckett said. “It was really hot [in Florida], and I sweated through like three shirts every day, but I had a good time.” All three players had standout seasons and are now one step closer to becoming Lipscomb’s next crop of talent to reach the big leagues – a group that includes Caleb Joseph, Rex Brothers and Josh Smith. Cheap hotels, long bus rides and fast-food meals aside, each of the former Bisons said they are thrilled to be chasing a dream that so few are afforded. “It’s hard to beat,” Solomon said of minor league life. “Our manager is always reminding us that we’re making money by hitting batting practice and taking ground balls instead of living in an office.” Passantino logged the most miles of the trio this season. He began the year in the Chicago Cubs’ extended Spring Training, but he was added to the Class-A South Bend Cubs for 10 days in June....
by Russell Vannozzi | Dec 22, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb and Vermont both entered Friday’s contest at Allen Arena ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The No. 23 Catamounts (9-4) were riding a six-game winning streak that included victories over George Mason, Harvard and St. Bonaventure. No. 11 Lipscomb clearly didn’t want to join that list. The Bisons (9-3) delivered perhaps their most complete performance of the season to down Vermont, 91-66. “That was as good as we’ve played against a good team since I’ve been here,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “I’m really proud of how our team played on both ends of the floor.” Lipscomb shot 58 percent (34-of-59) from the field and only missed six total shots in the first half. The Bisons also limited Vermont to its second-lowest scoring output of the season and held the Catamounts well below their average of 77.2 points per game. “Our huge emphasis this year has been defense,” Lipscomb guard Garrison Mathews said. “If we can hold people down, we can score more than [them].” Mathews led the Bisons with 22 points, while Rob Marberry added 21. It was the 46th time in Mathews’ career that he has scored 20 or more points, the most of any current ASUN player. Six of his seven field goal makes came from beyond the arc. “Rob’s a great player, and I enjoy playing with him so much,” Mathews said. “Everyone has to pay a lot of attention to him. When you have a post like [Marberry], it’s easy to get stuff outside.” Vermont showed signs of fatigue after narrow wins over Northeastern and St. Bonaventure earlier in the week, while...
