One of the primary concerns for the Lipscomb Bison this season has been the ability to rebound.
The Bison spent the past week of practice placing an emphasis on board work. But Saturday night at Allen Arena the Bison were outrebounded 53-40 in an 84-80 loss in overtime to Atlantic Sun foe Florida Gulf Coast.
The Bison slipped to 8-10 overall, 3-3 in the conference. Florida Gulf Coast is 8-9, 4-3 in the A-Sun. It was only the second win for Florida Gulf Coast on the road.
Lipscomb coach Scott Sanderson thought that a lack of rebounding hurt the Bison in this game more than any other time this season. In the second half Florida Gulf Coast scored 24 points in the paint, 10 on second chances.
“They hurt us on the backboards,” Sanderson said. “They took the shots we wanted them to take, but we just didn’t box out when we were playing a zone defense. It was our emphasis all week and we didn’t do it.”
Marvin Williams led the Bison with eight rebounds, a season high.
“We are small,” Sanderson said. “We had a hard time keeping them in front of us. That is why we went to the zone.”
The Bison trailed 33-29 in the first half. With 9:17 left in the second half the Bison held a 13-point lead at 63-50. Florida Gulf Coast went on an 11-0 scoring run to pull within two points, 63-61, with 3:47 left in regulation.
“I never thought we were in control of the game,” Sanderson said. “We are so inconsistent. We will have foolish and silly turnovers with no rhyme or reason.”
The Bison were outscored 14-10 in overtime. It was the second overtime game of the season and their second loss in overtime.
“Florida Gulf Coast is a very good team,” Sanderson said. “They shoot the ball well. They did a good job against us.”
“You can’t have peaks and valleys in your effort. That is what we had in this game. If you aren’t ready to play in this league you are going to get beat. I thought we played in spurts.”
Jordan Burgason led the Bison in scoring with a game-high 18 points, hitting four of seven 3-point shots. He has hit 27 of 43 attempts from 3-point range in his last seven games, a 62.8 percent success rate.
Also in double figures for the Bison were Jacob Arnett with 16 points followed by Martin Smith with 14, a season high, and Justin Glenn with 10.
Sherwood Brown paced Florida Gulf Coast with 16 points. Brett Comer finished with 15, including six-of-eight free throw attempts in the final 1:10 of overtime. Also in double figures were Chase Fieler with 12, Dante Holmes with 11 and Bernard Thompson with 10.
The Bison are back in action at home Monday night at 6:30 when Stetson visits.
Story used with permission from LipscombSports.com