With “brotherhood” as their mantra, the fresh crop of Lipscomb Bisons focuses on getting to know each other while tuning up for the historic Battle of the Boulevard rivalry Nov. 9.
“That’s a pretty big game,” sophomore forward Martin Smith said. “It’s the first game of the season, and everyone is really looking forward to that–getting hype–and we’ll be ready for it.”
The 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 tipoff at Allen Arena will begin the game that is for the first time a non-conference matchup. Belmont left the Atlantic Sun this past year to join the Ohio Valley Conference.
Nine new players have joined the squad, and coach Scott Sanderson said he knows that the focus of practices will be coming together internally as one group of players.
“Right now we are more focused on what we’re doing,” he said, adding that what concerns him most is “our day-to-day process, our day-to-day work ethic, you know, how we are paying attention to detail and getting ourselves better individually to help our team get better.”
Key additions to the team are: junior Khion Sankey from Stockton, Calif.; freshman John Ross Glover from Jackson, Tenn.; junior Oscar Garcia from El Paso, Texas; freshman J. J. Butler from Abingdon, Md., freshman Dylan Greene from Anaheim Hills, Calif.; and freshman Stephen Hurt from Murfreesboro, Tenn.
With so many new faces, the Bisons are keying on the word “brotherhood” as their team motto.
“I think when you look at our team currently, they’ve really come together as a brotherhood,” said Assistant Coach Pete Froedden. “They actually came up with that term brotherhood, and that’s something that they use as a foundation for what we want to be.”
“I have their back, they have my back on and off the court,” said Sophomore Carter Sanderson when talking about the importance of the motto.
There is a pretty strong tuneup for the season-opener, with a 7:15 p.m. Nov. 1 exhibition game against Freed-Hardeman at Allen Arena.
It should put the “brotherhood” to the test.