Lipscomb remained undefeated and tied for first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference with an 80-77 double-overtime win over Jacksonville Thursday night.
Lipscomb was missing two of its usual starters, Nathan Moran and Brett Wishon, due to concussions.
Head coach Casey Alexander recognized that the adjustments to the line-up were a challenge.
“Facing a zone for 40 minutes without your two best shooters is definitely a challenge,” Alexander said. “But we found a way to get it done.”
Allen Arena had quite the buzz, from both the increased number of fans and with the participation of the Hunters Lane High School band.
The Dolphins went off with an onslaught of offense, due to the high amount of turnovers from the Bisons early in the first half.
The Bisons finished the first half trailing 35-21. The Dolphins knocked down five three-pointers toward the end of the half and shot nearly 50% from the field. Lipscomb, on the other hand, hit only three three-pointers and shot a little over 30%.
The beginning of the second half was a completely different story, with the Bisons going on a 11-3 run in the first five minutes, cutting the Jacksonville lead to five.
As six minutes ran off the clock, both sides were scoring back and forth, and with under four minutes left, the Dolphins led 54-53.
With 1:18 remaining in regulation, Lipscomb freshman guard Aaron Korn tied the game at 58 with a three-pointer. With 26 seconds left, junior Talbott Denny took a charge. J.C. Hampton took the last shot of the game, which resulted in a near make that sent the game into the first overtime.
“I thought our energy was significantly stronger in the second half than it was in the first,” Alexander said.
Four minutes into the first overtime, the game was tied at 66 thanks to a three-pointer by J.C. Hampton. A shot by Josh Williams came up short to send the already lengthy game into a second overtime.
With 3:45 left in the second overtime, J.C. Hampton knocked down a three to give Lipscomb its first lead of the game at 69-66.
Momentum began to shift for the Bisons when Antwon Clayton fouled out, and the lead was pushed to 76-70.
Jacksonville’s Josh Adeyeye knocked down a three-pointer with 36 seconds left, cutting the Bisons lead to three.
With the Bisons holding a two-point lead with 11 seconds left, Hampton hit one of two free throws to increase the lead to 80-77. Jacksonville’s Andris Misters missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds.
On Saturday afternoon the Bisons will host North Florida, also at 4-0 in the conference.
“The biggest thing I think right now is just getting rest,” Williams said. “The guys that played a lot of minutes, just go get rest. We’re still going to have players out, and that’s a lot better team Saturday. We just gotta get it done.”
The Bisons will take on UNF at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Allen Arena.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics