by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 1, 2018 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb women’s basketball senior Loren Cagle has accomplished just about every imaginable personal feat in her four-year career with the Lady Bisons. The point guard has racked up 1,092 career points and 521 career assists, while being named ASUN Player of the Week four times and listed on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch list twice. The Nashville-native can now add ASUN Player of the Year to her list of accolades, after the conference tabbed her as its best player at an ASUN luncheon on Thursday. “I’ve been fortunate to be around some great players, but she’s been unbelievable,” Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said. “She’s a stat-line filler, from the rebounding to the blocked shots to the steals. She’s handled a lot of pressure with great composure and poise.” Despite the personal accomplishments, Cagle and her fellow seniors have yet to win an ASUN tournament game. The Lady Bisons (11-18, 7-7 ASUN) can change that when USC Upstate comes to town for the ASUN quarterfinals on Friday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Allen Arena. Individually speaking, Cagle is currently enjoying the best statistical season of her career, averaging 17.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. The emergence of young point guards like Lauren Rau and Lexi Manos has allowed opportunities for Cagle to become a more dynamic scorer. “[Cagle’s] teammates have been a great complement to her,” Brown said. “They’ve done a great job of getting her open with ball screens and having teammates that can knock down shots has given her space to operate this season.” For Cagle, a Lipscomb Academy graduate and self-proclaimed homebody, signing with Brown and...
by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 26, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
The first-ever game played at Allen Arena featured a 65-foot, game-winning shot from Lipscomb’s Clayton Osborn, giving the Bisons a 75-74 victory over North Texas on November 27, 2001. The memory of that play lives on in a “2001” shot promotion, where a student attempts a heave from the same spot in hopes of winning $2,001 dollars at each Lipscomb home game. During this season’s opener against Emory, the promotion went awry when an attempt missed the goal and went straight for the Lipscomb team, who had their backs turned to the action. Who was there to protect the huddle? None other than student manager Zack Olley, who quickly sidestepped a coach and punched the ball out of mid-air and safely away from the team meeting. Such is the life of a college basketball manager. Olley’s position emphasizes the details that won’t necessarily be recognized or seen by many. “You have to have a servant’s heart because you’re doing things behind the scenes that are for the good of others,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said of Olley’s manager role. “It’s almost like if you get noticed, you’ve done something wrong.” The senior does everything from laundry to filling water bottles to rounding up basketballs before and after games and practices. In return, Olley receives a small scholarship and behind-the-scenes access to a Division I basketball program. The Galloway, New Jersey native has spent the last four years with the Bisons basketball team, working long hours while balancing the job with his school demands. Despite not wearing a uniform, Olley spends so much time with the team that he’s sometimes...
by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 9, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
If you heard the crack of a wooden bat at Lipscomb this winter, there’s a good chance it came from former Bisons star Caleb Joseph. That’s because the current Baltimore Orioles catcher spent four days a week working out on campus this offseason. Joseph is set to report to the Orioles on Tuesday for the start of spring training in Sarasota, Florida. “I’m usually up in McQuiddy (Gym) because it’s too cold outside,” Joseph said. “Everything I need is here, so I’m usually the guy carrying a wood bat and a bag of balls around, trying to not create too much distraction.” 2017 served as a bounce-back year for Joseph, who did not register a single RBI in an injury-plagued 2016 campaign. Last season, the Franklin native hit .256 with eight home runs and 28 RBI in 89 games played. “When you have a historically bad season, there’s only way to go, and that’s up,” Joseph said. “I came back (to Lipscomb) and worked my tail off. I spent a lot of time in the McQuiddy cages trying to iron some things out. That work translated, and hopefully I can repeat that this season.” Now in his fifth year with the Orioles, the seasoned veteran is looking to lead his team back to the playoffs after winning the AL East title in 2014. “If the team does well, normally your personal stats turn out (okay),” Joseph said. “I’d love to help the team try to win another AL East title. That was an unbelievable feeling and hopefully (this) year is our year.” Joseph, who played for the Bisons from...
by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 2, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
As Lipscomb guard Garrison Mathews goes, so do the Bisons. The junior currently ranks 12th in the NCAA in scoring with 22.1 points per game and is regarded as one of the best mid-major players in the nation. But Mathews wasn’t always a sure lock to be a star. He had limited college options coming out of Franklin High School in 2015, touting just four Division I offers from Lipscomb, USC Upstate, UMass Lowell and Austin Peay. “I took official (visits) to Upstate and Lowell,” Mathews said. “Ultimately, going to (Lipscomb) was the best decision for me. I felt like I fit in with the players here.” However, Mathews wasn’t initially Coach Casey Alexander’s top priority. “We had been recruiting somebody else longer, and we told that player we were going to wait for his decision,” Alexander said. “We put Garrison on hold, and it turned out the other guy picked a different school.” The Bisons then extended an offer to Mathews, who jumped at the chance to play close to home. But one has to wonder: did being the second choice put a chip on his shoulder? “I guess a little bit,” he said. “I was just excited to get here. It was a blessing to get a Division I offer, because that’s something I dreamed of as a little kid.” The 6-foot-3 guard has played in all 23 games this season and has already totaled 508 points as of Feb. 2. Last season, he became the fastest Lipscomb player to reach 1,000 career points, needing just 65 games to reach the feat. “We’re really lucky that things...
by Russell Vannozzi | Jan 21, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s basketball team went into Saturday’s game against Stetson hoping to pick up its third conference win in four tries. However, poor shooting and rebounding ultimately doomed Lipscomb’s hope of continuing their recent hot streak. The Lady Bisons (6-13, 2-2 ASUN) shot just 30.8 percent (16-of-52) from the field and gave up 22 offensive rebounds, allowing Stetson to take a 59-55 victory in Allen Arena. “I thought we did a heck of a job defensively to hold them to 59 points,” Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said. “The problem was they scored off the offensive rebounds. You can’t allow that to happen and expect to win.” Stetson (12-8, 3-1 ASUN) held a slim 25-24 lead at halftime, and the game was knotted at 39 at the end of the third quarter. However, the Lady Bisons faltered down the stretch and were outscored 20-16 in the final quarter. Lipscomb freshman guard Taylor Clark set a new career-high with 21 points, while also grabbing four rebounds and making several hustle plays to fight for loose balls. “That’s her – she plays with great energy and effort, and she’ll only continue to get better,” Brown said. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the shooting woes of Lipscomb senior Loren Cagle. Fresh off a career performance of 31 points at North Florida on Monday, Cagle went just 1-of-15 from the field on Saturday, finishing with four points. “Loren’s a heck of a player,” Brown said. “I’m not worried about her shooting, because she did a lot of other things well.” Lipscomb largely neutralized Stetson’s high-powered offense as Brittney Chambers (19 points), McKenna Beach...
