by Spencer Boehme | Mar 5, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb faithful filled the Hall of Fame room in Allen Arena to witness an unforgettable ASUN championship victory for the Lipscomb University men’s basketball team. On Sunday afternoon, several fans attended the watch party held by the university’s Student Activities Board and saw the No. 2 Lipscomb Bisons overpower the No. 1 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. The ASUN Championship victory sends Lipscomb to territory it has never crossed into before — the NCAA tournament, the “Big Dance,” March Madness — whatever you want to call it. “It’s arguably the biggest thing to ever happen to the university,” SAB director Louis Nelms said. “And that’s not an overstatement. Hundreds of millions of people will be filling out brackets next week and reading Lipscomb’s name.” Lipscomb sent a handful of students to Alico Arena by bus, but the game was nationally televised on ESPN. “Florida’s a long way away,” Nelms said, “And I know there’s a lot of fans that couldn’t make the game.” This particular Sunday, campus was calm and quiet, and the weather outside was sunny and balmy. Inside Allen Arena, both the the Hall of Fame room and the lobby outside the room were lined up with several chairs and televisions. Another group of chairs could be spied at the south lobby. Fans had access to cookies, pulled pork sandwiches, queso and chips — there was plenty of food for everyone. “A lot of people put work into this event,” Nelms said. ” . . . We wanted to provide an opportunity for Lipscomb fans to watch the game together, even though you can’t make the game.”...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 3, 2018 | News Slider
You probably wouldn’t know the hotel was there if it weren’t for a small roadside sign reading “Bison Inn” with an arrow pointing towards the interior of Lipscomb’s campus. That sign directs guests from Belmont Boulevard into the northern end of campus, where within the walls of Bison Hall rests a nine-room hotel on the bottom floor. Both Lipscomb Now and Lumination Network featured the hotel in January. Lumination spoke with manager Bodhi Dark on Wednesday to provide an update on Bison Inn. “We’re definitely picking up some traction in the community and the greater Lipscomb community,” Dark said. “Kind of being mostly alumni (sic) and parents that we’re trying to get the word out to right now.” While the numbers in the hotel haven’t yet skyrocketed, Dark said he’s happy with the overall progress. “I’d say that we’ve been averaging probably 50 percent occupancy this whole month. This month particularly was pretty busy.” Dark said that one challenge in terms of outsider perspective is that people seem to focus on the dorm setting when considering Bison Inn. “That stigma, even though we kind of fight against that, is still something that’s really hard to kind of communicate, I guess.” Meanwhile, Bison Hall residents have raised parking concerns with the development. Nine Bison Hall parking spots are now accompanied by signposts indicating that only guests may park there. Dark said that students can use reserved spots during daytime hours but not nighttime hours. Guests can also take advantage of passes for roadside parking by the front of the hotel. “I’m here to serve students as much as I’m here...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 2, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Garrison Mathews scored a team-high 23 points as Lipscomb defeated Jacksonville in a 77-62 victory to send the Bisons to their first ASUN championship game since 2006. The Bisons (22-9) entered Thursday’s game against the Jacksonville Dolphins (15-18) in an attempt to break a three-game losing streak in the conference semifinals. They did just that, winning the shooting percentage battle 45.8 percent to 41.8 percent and the assist battle 19-9. The Bisons head to FGCU on Sunday for the championship. “You walk in there, and it’s 0-0,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said of the upcoming game, “and you’re playing a great team in a great environment in a championship game, so you’ve got to expect their best.” One of the biggest keys of the game for the Bisons was limiting redshirt senior guard Devin Harris and sophomore guard Tanner Rubio to a combined 2-of-15 on field goals. Both players were starters. “Our main objective was to try to shut [Harris] down and keep him away from the basket,” Lipscomb junior center Rob Marberry said. “I think we did a good job of that in the first half, and in the second half we carried over.” Dolphins’ freshman guard JD Notae, who had scooped up the ASUN Freshman of the Year award, missed his third straight game due to an injury. Redshirt senior forward Cody Helgeland scored nine of Jacksonville’s 23 field goals for a team-high 24 points. Freshman guard Jalyn Hinton scored all 12 of the Dolphins’ points off the bench. Junior forward Eli Pepper led the Bisons with eight rebounds, while Harris gave the Dolphins a team-high 11....
by Spencer Boehme | Feb 27, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Lipscomb put in a stellar second half to grab a victory in the first round of the ASUN men’s basketball tournament on Monday night. The No. 2 Lipscomb Bisons (21-9) defeated the No. 7 Stetson Hatters (12-20) by a score of 89-73 in a well-attended game. Lipscomb converted on 14-of-32 three-pointers. “We just haven’t been a good three-point shooting team all season,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “So 14-for-32’s a great night for us.” Junior guard Garrison Mathews shot 10-of-16 on field goals and 4-of-4 on free throws in a 29-point team-leading effort. Junior forward Eli Pepper led with eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Matt Rose shot 5-of-9 off the bench for a second-best 15 points. Every shot he attempted was from behind the three-point line. “That’s what he does best,” Alexander said. “That’s why he’s in there.” For the Hatters, freshman forward Abayomi Iyiola shot 7-of-9 on field goals and 4-of-6 on free throws for a team-best 18 points. He also led the team with 10 rebounds. Senior guard Divine Myles went 4-of-6 on field goals and 6-of-8 on free throws and finished with a second-best 15 points. The Bisons shot 46.4 percent from the field, while the Hatters converted on 43.6 percent of their shots. The Hatters out-rebounded the Bisons 39-36, but they lost the assist battle 22-12 and committed 18 turnovers compared to Lipscomb’s 11. Lipscomb took an 8-2 lead to start things out. Later on, Stetson set the score at 19-13 in favor of Lipscomb with a Myles jumper at the 12:09 mark. The Bisons then rode a 13-3 run to extend the...
by Spencer Boehme | Feb 25, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Seven Lady Bisons played in their last regular-season college basketball game on Saturday evening. The Lipscomb Lady Bisons (11-18, 7-7 ASUN) grabbed a Senior-Night victory over the Kennesaw State Owls (7-18, 3-11) by a score of 69-52. “I told them I hadn’t been breathing for about 18 hours,” Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said of the seniors. “There’s so much emotion in it, especially with that many seniors.” Senior guard Loren Cagle led Lipscomb with 16 points, going 5-of-16 on field goals and 3-of-8 on free throws. She also added a team-best six rebounds and four assists. Cagle is a longtime Lipscomb student dating back to her Lipscomb Academy days as a fifth-grader. “It’s been awesome to have this career here,” Cagle said, “and for [my coaches] to help me along the way.” The Lady Bisons had already sealed a home game for the postseason, but they utilized the same intensity they’ve had all year long. Lipscomb shot more efficiently than Kennesaw State (41.9 percent to 32.2 percent), and the Owls never led nor tied. Lipscomb took a 19-4 lead with 2:13 to go in the first period. During that time, redshirt freshman forward Emily Kmec converted on two three-pointers, including the first basket of the game. The Owls then broke a 10-point Lady Bisons run with a 16-5 effort, which included 10 unanswered points, to put the score at 24-20 with 4:10 left in the second period. They brought the score to 25-23 with 2:44 left, but Lipscomb went on a 7-2 run to finish the half leading 32-25. In the second half, Kennesaw State pulled the scoring margin...
