by Spencer Boehme | Jan 10, 2021 | Galleries, News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s basketball team has won a combined six conference games over the past two seasons. After falling in its first two ASUN games last weekend, Lipscomb got its first in an 84-72 home opener over Division I newcomer Bellarmine. It was the kind of balanced performance you’d dream of if you’re a head coach: all five starters for the Lady Bisons (4-5, 1-2 ASUN) scored in double figures. Lipscomb also went 16-of-32 from downtown. Junior guard and Hendersonville native Jane Deason tabbed a team-leading 15 points, while senior forward Taylor Clark had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sydney Shelton, Jalyn Holcomb and Casey Collier all brought in 14 points apiece. Bellarmine (0-6, 0-1 ASUN) just joined the conference this year after making the leap from Division II, where it made 16 NCAA tourney appearances. The Knights actually scored a season-high 72 points on Sunday, with senior guard Tasia Jeffries setting a new career-high with a team-leading 25. Bellarmine also shot 46 percent from downtown after averaging less than 20 percent of three-point makes all season long, but the Knights could not overcome large deficits throughout the game. Lipscomb’s 32 first-quarter points made Bellarmine’s day difficult from the get-go. The Lady Bisons led 21-7 with 3:58 left after Shelton connected from downtown. Bellarmine used a timeout at that point to try and slow Lipscomb’s momentum. The Knights would eventually narrow the deficit to 25-14 with 1:29 to go in the first quarter but were down by 15 heading into the second. Lipscomb took a 47-27 lead off a Deason three-ball with 5:33 to go in the half and...
by Spencer Boehme | Jan 3, 2021 | Galleries, News, News Slider, Sports
After having a field day against Liberty on Friday, the Lipscomb men’s basketball team was shut down offensively, making just 35 percent of its field goals. Lipscomb lost 66-50 on Saturday afternoon, wrapping up a slate of two consecutive games at home against Liberty in the ASUN’s COVID-modified scheduling format. It was a reversal for both teams, as the Bisons (6-6, 1-1 ASUN) had outperformed the Flames in that same category in the previous matchup. But Liberty (9-4, 1-1 ASUN) improved its three-point game a day after going 7-of-29 from downtown, clipping in 43 percent of its triples. “Yesterday was really, really an emotional game,” Lipscomb coach Lennie Acuff said during an interview with ESPN+. “We got off to a great start, and we had to just kind of hang on for dear life… It just takes a lot out of you, and we just didn’t have the ability or capacity today to rally and put another good performance together. Something we’ve gotta figure out for sure.” Redshirt junior center Ahsan Asadullah had a nice day with 15 points, but he was limited to 19 minutes of play after committing two quick early fouls. He also led with seven rebounds. After turning the ball over just four times on Friday, Lipscomb gave up 14 turnovers and got out-assisted 13 to 4 by the Flames. “The bottom line is they were just a lot better — not a little bit, a lot better — than we were today from tip to horn,” Acuff said. “I thought we came out really, really sluggish.” Both teams kept things close, with each squad trading leads early and Liberty...
by Spencer Boehme | Jan 2, 2021 | Galleries, News Slider, Sports
During the non-conference slate, it would seem that Liberty’s men’s basketball program was the stronger team after beating two SEC teams and rattling mid-major programs. Lipscomb meanwhile had just two non-conference wins against Division I, opponents, after being picked to win the ASUN. But then the script completely flipped Saturday at Allen Arena, as the Bisons (6-5, 1-0 ASUN) raced off to a 35-14 advantage over Liberty (8-4, 0-1 ASUN) late in the first half and won the game 77-70. Liberty would narrow that lead to as little as three in the second half, but Lipscomb led the entire game. “It was a really, really, really good team win… we only turned it over four times, and that’s fantastic,” Lipscomb coach Lennie Acuff said during a postgame interview with ESPN+. The Flames were without head coach Ritchie McKay, who is dealing with COVID-19. Associate head coach Brad Soucie took his place. Redshirt junior center Ahsan Asadullah led the way with 24 points after struggling to score consistently all season, while sophomore guard KJ Johnson continued his impressive second-year campaign with 17. “It’s definitely a confidence booster,” Asadullah said. “I knew that eventually, they would be falling. I’ve been working on it outside of practice.” Senior forward Parker Hazen and grad transfer guard Romeao Ferguson combined for 16 rebounds on the defensive side. Liberty meanwhile got 16 points out of its leading scorer Darius McGhee, a 5-9 guard with great vertical ability. But his dreary day at the three-point line (2-for-9) highlighted what was a lackluster overall team performance from downtown. The Flames came in leading the nation in made three-pointers, but they went 7-of-29 on Friday....
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 3, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider, Sports
When the Lipscomb men’s basketball team took the floor against Liberty on Saturday, the Bisons needed a tough win or some help from opponents to secure the fourth seed in the ASUN tournament. Not only did Lipscomb beat Liberty 77-71 (including a 29-6 lead to start the game), but Stetson also lost to Jacksonville, and Lipscomb got the tiebreaker over the Hatters and jumped a spot. This comes one season after graduating from a star-studded lineup of seniors that included Garrison Mathews and the transfer of starting point guard Kenny Cooper to Western Kentucky. Not to mention Casey Alexander’s departure to Belmont. “I was really proud of our guys for staying the course,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said before practice on Monday. “I thought there [were] many times we could have punted. And obviously our roster’s been depleted, and we lost [Jake Wolfe and Alex Jones] for the year. But we just stayed the course, and we kept going.” That means the Bisons (14-15, 9-7 ASUN) have the No. 3 seed heading into Tuesday night’s matchup against No. 6 FGCU at 7 p.m. CT. Fans who can’t make the game can tune in on ESPN+ or listen for free on the Bison. “Florida Gulf Coast is very talented,” Acuff said. “We split with them. They beat us down there, we beat them here. They can really score the ball. We need to play well defensively.” Lipscomb went 5-8 in non-conference (3-8 against Division I opponents) and then started out the ASUN slate 2-5, including a four-game losing streak to cap it off. But the Bisons dealt North Florida...
by Spencer Boehme | Feb 7, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team started conference play rocky this year. But the Bisons have now won two of their last three after an important victory over North Alabama on Thursday night. Lipscomb (9-14, 4-6 ASUN) led 39-29 at halftime, but the Lions (10-13, 5-5 ASUN) made a quick second-half comeback and led by four with 11:20 left in the game. The Bisons came back and either led or tied the rest of the way, but UNA had multiple chances to get a game-tying or game-winning basket in the final seconds due to missed layups and free throws from Lipscomb. “I lost about three years off my life in that last two minutes,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said. “But real happy for our team, and we deserved some good fortune, and we got a little bit tonight.” The game was a return of sorts for Acuff, who had coached many games at Flowers Hall when his former team Alabama-Huntsville would play at UNA. “They’ve done a great job with the building. It’s beautiful — it’s a little different than when I was here. But we always had great games with them, and I think coach [Tony] Pujol has done a great job with their team.” Redshirt sophomore center Ahsan Asadullah continued his dominant streak for Lipscomb, leading the way with 19 points and 14 rebounds. “That’s a pretty good night at the shop,” Acuff said. Freshman guard KJ Johnson has struggled during conference play, but he scored 15, all of which came in the first half. Redshirt senior Andrew Fleming tabbed 13, while sophomore Greg Jones had 10....
