by Russell Vannozzi | Apr 6, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Coach Casey Alexander and his Lipscomb team capped their season with an 81-66 loss to Texas in Thursday’s NIT championship game in New York. Naturally, the questions about Alexander’s future have already begun. He’s an obvious candidate for the open Belmont job after spending 20 total seasons with the Bruins – four as a player and 16 as a coach. But Alexander has been noncommittal in his public statements about the coaching vacancy so far. “Obviously there’s a lot of people talking about that,” he said at Lipscomb’s welcome home ceremony Friday afternoon. “I’m glad I’m the Lipscomb coach. We’ll deal with that when it happens, if it happens.” Alexander’s mentor and longtime Belmont head coach Rick Byrd announced his retirement Monday morning after 33 years on the Bruin sidelines. Alexander has routinely credited Byrd for impacting his life both on and off the court. “Belmont is important to me,” Alexander told 104.5 The Zone’s 3HL show Wednesday. “I spent 20 years there, I graduated from there, my wife graduated from there. I’ve got a history of 20 teams of players that were important to me. Hardly anybody’s more important to me than Coach Byrd is.” Before entering the coaching ranks, Alexander was a star player in his own right. He was a three-sport standout at Brentwood Academy and won two state championships. He later starred for Belmont’s basketball team (1992-95) and is among the school’s all-time leaders in assists and steals. Alexander was inducted into the Belmont Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. Two of Alexander’s current staff members – associate head coach Roger Idstrom and assistant coach...
by Russell Vannozzi | Apr 5, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb men’s basketball walk-on Zach Flener will not return next season. The guard is set to graduate this summer after packing his strategic communication degree into just two years at Lipscomb. He doesn’t plan to use his final two years of eligibility at another university. “I’ve got a few classes left to take this summer, probably about 12 hours,” Flener said. “It’ll be a full summer.” Flener appeared in 14 games and scored 11 points this season. His season and career high came when he scored nine points in a 119-48 beatdown of Covenant last December. He arrived at Lipscomb in 2017 after taking about 30 college credit hours while attending Murray High School in Kentucky. He averaged 13.3 points per game as a senior with the Tigers. “I came in with a bunch of hours from [Murray State],” Flener said. “And I had a bunch of AP hours. Since then, I’ve been taking like 18 credits a semester and then 12 in the summers. “I’m taking 19 hours this semester. It’s rough.” The 5-foot-10, 169-pounder was a fan and team favorite, often keeping the mood light at practices and during pregame warmups. “I just love being around [the team],” he said. “I’ve met some of the best friends I’ve ever had in my life. I’ve kind of figured out that my role is to keep everyone loose and have as much fun as I can.” Flener’s departure frees up roster space for Lipscomb’s incoming recruiting class, which includes a handful of high school players and former Valparaiso forward Parker Hazen. Flener hopes to eventually work in an NBA front...
by Russell Vannozzi | Apr 5, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb senior Garrison Mathews has accepted an invite to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a four-day showcase in front of NBA scouts. Coach Casey Alexander confirmed the news at the team’s welcome home ceremony outside Allen Arena Friday afternoon. “It’s well-deserved,” Alexander said. “That’s the opportunity that will lead to his professional career and what kind of looks that he gets.” Mathews finished the season averaging 20.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He earned ASUN Player of the Year Honors and broke the school’s Division I scoring record with 2,480 career points. The Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational was established in 1953 to allow the nation’s 64 best college seniors a chance to showcase their skills in a 12-game tournament. All 30 NBA teams will have representatives at the tournament, which is slated for April 17-20 at the Churchland High School Sports Complex. Mathews is not currently listed in any NBA mock drafts. But he averaged 26 points per game in the NIT and likely turned heads with his 44-point outing at NC State and his 34-point performance against Wichita State in Madison Square Garden. “You go back-to-back games against NC State and Wichita State with 78 [combined] points…I think he probably got some people’s attention,” Alexander said. Only two Lipscomb players have ever been selected in the NBA Draft, and both came when the draft had more rounds. The 2019 draft consists of just two rounds and 60 overall picks. No former Bisons have ever appeared in an NBA game, so Mathews has a chance to become the first. Ron Rippitoe became the school’s first player selected in the draft...
by Russell Vannozzi | Apr 5, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
March 10 was a heartbreaking day for the Lipscomb men’s basketball team. After being projected by every major bracketologist to be in the NCAA tournament, the Bisons saw their dreams fade in a 74-68 loss to Liberty in the ASUN championship game. Even worse, the defeat came in front of a record Allen Arena crowd of 5,687. But the Bisons refused to fold despite the disappointment. Instead, they delivered a thrilling NIT run that ended with an 81-66 championship loss to Texas in New York Thursday night. “We’re disappointed we didn’t play better, but the only thing to be sad about is this team doesn’t have any more days together,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “But we have to finish it up, because we maxed out pretty well.” The Bisons played five NIT games and won four of them. Garrison Mathews, undoubtedly the team’s star, put on several unforgettable performances and averaged 26 points per NIT contest. The final two games came in Madison Square Garden on primetime television. It’s hard to ask for much more, other than, say, an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. “They’re as good as any team we’ve played this year,” UNCG coach Wes Miller said following his team’s 86-69 loss to Lipscomb March 23. “Wofford is a great basketball team, and Lipscomb is on that level – they should be in the NCAA tournament. And I think they’d be winning games in the NCAA tournament.” But not everyone is a believer. Senior forward Rob Marberry and his purple-clad teammates were mistaken for TCU players at a New York Starbucks earlier this week. Later, in a...
by Russell Vannozzi | Apr 3, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
NEW YORK CITY – Things looked bleak for the Lipscomb men’s basketball team with 3:46 left in Tuesday’s NIT semifinal game at Madison Square Garden. Wichita State appeared to be in control, but the Bisons had a final surprise for the Shockers. Powered by senior leader Garrison Mathews, Lipscomb closed the game on a 14-0 run to steal a 71-64 victory and advance to the NIT title game. The Bisons will battle Texas for the championship Thursday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN and on Lumination Radio. “It says a lot about our program and the current state of it,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “We’ve got some guys with three straight 20-win seasons and an NCAA Tournament last year, and three road wins in the NIT before we came here, so they have accomplished a lot.” Mathews led all scorers with 34 points, but he had to earn every bucket. The Shockers’ defense paid close attention to him and tried to deny the ASUN Player of the Year on the perimeter. But the Franklin native still managed to make five of his fifteen three-point attempts and 11 of his 12 free throws. He scored Lipscomb’s final seven points, including a go-ahead three with 1:10 remaining. “I went cold there for a little while, so it was good to finally knock one down for my team and help them kind of get over the hump,” he said. Rob Marberry also had 14 points for Lipscomb, and senior forward Eli Pepper surpassed 1,000 career rebounds by pulling down 15 boards. Lipscomb led 35-30 at halftime, but the Shockers responded with a...
