by Parker O'Neal | Feb 20, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
FLORENCE, Alabama – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team broke an eight-game losing streak by defeating the North Alabama Lions 70-59 Saturday afternoon, their first-ever win in Florence. The Bisons only played seven players in the game, five of which totaled more than 35 minutes, and all 70 points came from the starting lineup. With starting point guard Casey Collier out with injury, the starting lineup stepped up in her absence with four players scoring in double digits. Knocking down 25 of their 55 attempts, the Bisons made 45.5% of their shots. “You can’t completely take out the part that she plays on our team because she’s taught us so much about leadership…I think all of us had to step into the ‘Casey-role’ today,” junior guard Blythe Pearson said, noting Collier’s absence. Pearson, hailing from Overland Park, Kansas, earned a double-double by tallying a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. Redshirt junior Maddie Cook also had a strong resume with 16 points, eight rebounds, and a game-high four assists. Sophomore Jalyn Holcomb and freshman Jordan Peete also scored in double digits with 13 and 12 points respectively. Pearson had an electric first quarter as she contributed to 10 of Lipscomb’s 15 points on a 4-5 shooting performance. Cook ignited Pearson’s efficient quarter by drawing two defenders and assisting to a wide-open Pearson for three. Lipscomb would turn a 13-7 North Alabama lead to a tied score of 15-15 at the end of the quarter. Freshman Skyler Gill and transfer student Patrycja Jaworska played efficiently and led the Lions with 14 points each. Jaworska made a three-pointer to take a 30-20...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 20, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
FLORENCE, Alabama – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team completed a 19-point comeback to beat the North Alabama Lions Saturday afternoon at Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama. Down 42-23 with 18:26 left in the contest, a resilient Bisons squad found their way back from one of their largest deficits all year. “I’m really proud, I’m really happy for them,” head coach Lennie Acuff said. Junior center Ahsan Asadullah led the charge with a double-double, collecting 10 rebounds to go with a team-leading 23 points. Asadullah shot 9-12 from the field and went 2-2 on three-pointers, adding seven assists and three blocks to a successful outing on both ends of the floor. Despite picking up a knee injury early in the second half after missing time earlier this season to knee troubles, the Atlanta native scored 14 points in the second half to mastermind the comeback. Asadullah came away from a screen clutching his knee, leading to fears of a serious injury, but the center checked back in just over three minutes later. “He’s a really, really good player,” Acuff said, “and he played 33 minutes–I thought he was done when he went out.” Down 40-23 at halftime, Lipscomb fought back with an eight-point run, a seven-point run, and a six-point run to eventually cut the lead to four points with 5:52 left. A Dallas Howell three-pointer for UNA put the Lions up 64-57, but a three-pointer and three free throws made it a one-point game at the final media timeout. The lead flip-flopped until graduate forward Parker Hazen made a pair of free throws to put Lipscomb up 74-72 with...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 18, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost to division leaders Jacksonville State 62-53 Thursday night at Allen Arena. A defensive battle saw two teams compete closely for 30 minutes, but a late third-quarter run from JSU left the Bisons unable to respond. Lipscomb was led by junior guard Casey Collier, who went 5-8 from the floor en route to 12 points. Collier, a Knoxville native, also led the team in rebounds with seven and in assists with three. “She’s a fighter like always,” assistant coach Chris Sumski said. “She’s been battling through some tough injuries right now, she had the toughest assignment on defense today, and she was still productive offensively.” Graduate shooting guard Sydney Shelton produced 10 points off the bench, all of which came in the fourth quarter. Imani Martin led Jacksonville State with 18 points, but the most damage to the Bisons was done at the free throw line. The visitors from east Alabama made 18 of 21 at the charity stripe, outscoring the Bisons by 11 on free throws despite Lipscomb going a perfect 7-7. Aside from free throws, it was mostly an ugly night of offense for both sides. Lipscomb and JSU combined for 6-23 shooting in the second quarter, highlighting what would end up being a sub-40% evening from the field for both teams. One recurring achilles heel reared its ugly head for the second time this year–turnovers. Against an effective full-court press, Lipscomb struggled to hold onto the ball and gave away 18 points off of their 17 turnovers. Jacksonville State coughed up the ball 12 times resulting in just six...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 17, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team lost a tight contest against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks Wednesday night at Allen Arena 78-67. After losing by five points at Jacksonville State in January, it was another close contest in the second game of the season series with the same result. Second-year freshman Will Pruitt and graduate transfer Parker Hazen led the Bisons with 17 points and 5 rebounds apiece. Pruitt, a guard from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, shot 4-10 from the field and made 6-7 free throws. Hailing from Columbia City, Indiana, Hazen went 6-12 from the floor and made 3-6 from behind the arc. Freshman shooting guard Tommy Murr scored 14 points for Lipscomb, his second straight game with double digits in scoring. “It’s a lot of fun because we play the game the right way,” the Athens, Alabama-born guard said. “We have a lot of really good players, and sometimes that shows, sometimes it doesn’t.” The scoreboard may not have shown Lipscomb’s quality, but the Bisons battled for 40 well-fought minutes against a highly talented JSU team. Despite 64% 3-point shooting in the first half, Lipscomb used key runs down the stretch of the first half to keep things level at 41-41 at the midway point. Led by junior guard Jalen Finch’s 14 points on perfect 4-4 three-point shooting, JSU jumped out to leads of eight points at the 15:15 mark and seven with under eight minutes to go in the half. Lipscomb responded in kind to both runs, eventually earning their first lead of the game with 3:27 on the clock. Pruitt knocked down a left-wing three as...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 16, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s tennis team has taken great strides in the past two years, but they aren’t looking to stay stagnant in the 2022 season. After posting a 7-14 record in 2019, the Bisons went 18-8 in their past two seasons combined and reached the semifinal of the ASUN tournament last year. In head coach Geoff Hernandez’ fifth season at the helm, Lipscomb will look to continue growing and perhaps even find their way to an ASUN Championship. In 2019, the Bisons went 9-1 in an abbreviated season that saw wins over 31st-ranked Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Louisville, and Belmont before COVID-19 ended the Bisons’ chances at a conference title. “When my brother [Mario] and I took over, it was kind of a growth period of just finding us, our style as coaches,” Hernandez said. “Then we had a breakthrough, getting to the finals [in 2017] as the 6-seed, which gave us a little bit of hope. As I’ve taken over, getting some of our recruits and some transfers, you know, the depth of the team has just gone up.” Last season, Lipscomb finished with a 9-7 record and a 4-2 ASUN mark while reaching the conference semifinals. The lineup Lipscomb brings to the table this season is a worldwide one, with five countries and three states represented. “You have to cast a wide net in tennis,” Hernandez said, “and there are certain elements of the players from Spain and South America that there was a real toughness and fight in them that I felt helped our breakthrough. Now, we’ve tried to pull from different places as well.” “The maturity of...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 15, 2022 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost to the North Alabama Lions 76-68 Monday afternoon at Allen Arena. Trailing for the majority of the game and down 17 early in the 4th quarter, the Bisons could only cut the lead to four points before the Lions finished the game off. Three players scored 14 or more points for the home team, with sophomore guard Jalyn Holcomb’s 15-point outing leading the way. The 2020 ASUN Freshman of the Year from Murfreesboro went 6-11 from the field and shot 3-5 at the three-point line. “I think [Holcomb] did a good job of trying to make the simple plays,” assistant coach Chris Sumski said, “not getting too far outside of herself. She did her job and she was unselfish, and that’s what we expect from Jalyn.” Junior Blythe Pearson earned her first career double-double, making 4-11 field goals and pulling down a game-leading 11 rebounds. Senior point guard Casey Collier had an efficient afternoon, shooting 6-8 from the floor and collecting 14 more points for Lipscomb. “[Collier] is a warrior,” Sumski said. “She competes on both ends of the floor, and our team wouldn’t be the same without her. A back-and-forth battle in the first quarter gave way to dominance offensively from North Alabama, who turned a three point lead at halftime into a 40-26 advantage at the halftime break. Shooting was the name of the game for the Lions, who shot 25-49 from the field and made 11 threes. Skyler Gill totaled 21 points on 9-15 shooting for the visitors from Florence. “Credit to them; they’re a good offensive team,”...
