by Gunnar Eng | Dec 11, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
A ping pong tournament in the Student Activities Center provided a welcome distraction for students heading into finals. “I think it gives everyone time to relax, not worry about anything, and a chance to come out and play,” tournament participant Evan Johnston said. “Even though it is a bit stressful at times with everyone watching because of just one table, it’s a great time to take your mind off things and compete.” The recent tournament was the first sports event organized by the newly formed Student Athletic Advisory Committee and was run by committee member Hanna Anderson. “S.A.A.C. is a student-athlete organization that has two representatives from each athletic team,” Anderson said. “The goal is to bring issues we find within athletics to our administrators, as well as organizing events for the community and school.” The event was also involved with the committee’s annual canned food drive, requiring $2 or a canned food item as entry fee. “We really want to get our numbers up for the food drive this year, because it’s a competition between the ASUN schools in our conference,” Anderson said. “We want to win this food drive just as much as we do our individual sports, because it goes to such a good cause with the Second Harvest Food Bank, so it takes a lot of planning to pull an event like this off.” Student participants in the tournament were also appreciative of the fact that a less popular sport such as ping pong was able to be played in a tournament setting. “It may not get as much money as the more popular sports, but...
by Danny Kotula | Dec 8, 2021 | News Slider, Sports, Uncategorized
The Lipscomb women’s basketball team dominated Division III LaGrange by a 77-45 scoreline Wednesday morning at Allen Arena. The game welcomed lower school students between kindergarten and 2nd grade from Lipscomb Academy, who took a field trip down Granny White Pike to watch the Bisons play. “That was fun,” assistant coach Chris Sumski said. “It meant a lot. Even [head coach] Lauren [Sumski] got a little bit emotional at the beginning of the game with the kids cheering. Our kids really enjoyed that, we’re really thankful to them today.” With hundreds of Academy students cheering them on, the Bisons left no room for doubt about the result. Lipscomb scored the first ten points, 5 of which came from junior forward Maddie Cook, and they never looked back. Cook, a Belmont transfer led the team in scoring for the second straight game, finishing with 13 on 6-8 shooting from the floor. A combination of balanced offense and stifling defense led the Bisons to full control on the scoreboard and on the court, giving them a 19-4 advantage after one period. The second quarter continued in the same vein, leading the home side to a 41-15 advantage at the midway point. Lipscomb owned the paint over the course of the half, outscoring LaGrange 26-2 and racking up 5 blocks. Senior center Dorie Harrison was responsible for 3 of those blocks and ended with 4. She added 13 points and 4 rebounds to that tally. “Our plan is to play our best basketball every time we step on the court,” Harrison said. “We were just having fun. Everybody was hyping each other...
by Danny Kotula | Dec 6, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team lost 85-64 to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs Sunday afternoon at Allen Arena in Nashville. Lipscomb loses for the second straight time and drops to 5-4 with the loss, while Chattanooga improves to 7-1. Despite the loss, redshirt freshman forward Jacob Ognacevic continued to pour in points, producing a 23-point outing against the Mocs. Ognacevic, of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, made nine baskets from the floor on the evening and was just one of two players in double figures for Lipscomb. Sophomore guard Greg Jones was the other Bison to finish with over 10 points, racking up 12 on just two field goals. The game started poorly for the home team and only got worse, as Chattanooga dominated early and late on, finding a way to sneak by in the start of the second half as Lipscomb began to make a run. The Bisons cut a 36-16 halftime deficit to a 4-point game just five minutes into the second half, but they were unable to hold on as they were once again torched at the 3-point line. After giving up 94 points to Belmont and allowing 41 3-point attempts, they allowed 12-25 shooting from behind the arc this afternoon. On the other side of the ball, a 38.8% mark from the field is Lipscomb’s worst shooting percentage this season. The Mocs defense rose to the challenge Lipscomb provided and kept the Bisons away from the basket in their home gym. Lipscomb did earn 29 trips to the free throw line, converting on 22 of them. Head coach Lennie Acuff and his Bisons are still...
by Danny Kotula | Dec 6, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost to the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders 84-59 Sunday afternoon at Allen Arena in Nashville. The loss is Lipscomb’s first since February 2020 and breaks a 12-game winning streak at home for the Bisons. A dominant third quarter was the difference-maker for the hot-shooting perennial power, as MTSU earned their second win of the weekend after a double-digit margin of victory versus Mercer Friday night. The Bisons stuck with now 7-1 MTSU in the first half, making multiple late-quarter runs to keep things close after periods 1 and 2. The halftime lead for the Blue Raiders was just 32-27 in a game that the Bisons never led, but kept within a possession multiple times in the first half of play. In the second half, a energy-sapping full-court press from MTSU’s stingy defense took its toll on the Bisons, who would end up committing 26 turnovers in a game where countless passes were intercepted, especially in the backcourt. On the other end of the floor, Lipscomb had no answer for MTSU’s behind-the-arc shooting clinic, as the Blue Raiders rattled in 16 three-pointers. In the second half especially, MTSU’s strong shooting pushed them past a resilient Bisons side, giving them a 10-0 run to start the third quarter. The away side, which brought a sizable contingent of away fans from 45 minutes south in Murfreesboro, got hot again at the end of the period with an 11-0 run to end the 3rd, outscoring Lipscomb 29-12 in that game-securing frame. Leading the way for Lipscomb was a coalition of scorers; four players ended in double figures...
by Danny Kotula | Dec 3, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team lost 94-65 in a drubbing by archrivals Belmont Thursday night at the Curb Event Center in Nashville. In perhaps the team’s worst display all season, the Bisons were run off the court by the Bruins and beaten on both sides of the court in front of 3,800 fans. The Bisons sorely missed the presence of 4th-year center Ahsan Asadullah; the Atlanta-born post player suffered an injury in November at Tennessee Tech and did not appear for the second straight game. Third-year head coach Lennie Acuff played true freshman forward Grant Osman, hailing from Kimberly, Wisconsin, in his first game of the season. In so doing, Acuff voided Osman’s eligibility for a redshirt season, leading to rumors that Asadullah could be out of action on a longer-term basis than was initially expected. Currently, there is no official timetable for Asadullah’s return. Offensively, two bright spots were Valparaiso transfer Jacob Ognacevic and graduate forward Parker Hazen. Ognacevic, a Sheboygan, Wisconsin-born power forward, put in 32 minutes and scored 20 points on 6-11 shooting, also leading the team in rebounds with 8. Hazen added 15 points and 4 rebounds, going 3 of 4 from the free throw line. In an abysmal defensive showing, the Bisons allowed 41 three-point attempts by Belmont, who converted on 17 of them for 51 points from behind the arc. All told, Belmont shot the ball 25 more times than Lipscomb, and they scored at an effective 49% rate. Leading the way for the home team was JaCobi Wood, who scored 17 on the night. Ben Sheppard, Nick Muszynksi, and Luke Smith each...
by Danny Kotula | Dec 3, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost a heartbreaking 67-62 decision to the Belmont Bruins in the Battle of the Boulevard Thursday evening at Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. With the loss, Lipscomb drops to 2-4, with all four of their losses coming away from home. This occasion was a much closer battle than the Bisons’ previous three losses, coming after Lipscomb led 30-23 at halftime. “We’ve had some games where I think we’ve done a little bit of overthinking and a little bit of doubting,” third-year head coach Lauren Sumski said. “We worked really hard to execute our game plan and this is the first time I’ve looked and and thought this was our team,” Sumski said. The Bisons played with a level of intensity and efficiency that hadn’t been seen much before today’s high-pressure environment at Belmont. The Bruins came in as one of the most highly-touted mid-major programs in the country coming off the back of a NCAA Tournament 2nd Round appearance last year. Despite their prowess and home court advantage, though, the Bruins were second best in the first half. Despite 16 points from sophomore guard Tuti Jones, Belmont struggled to make shots, and a balanced Lipscomb attack gave them issues. Down the stretch, though, it was foul trouble that would hamper the Bisons’ chances at the away win. Lipscomb took a 49-48 lead into the fourth quarter, but with four players at four fouls apiece, including three forwards, the Bisons were ill-equipped to deal with Belmont down low. The Bruins went on a 6-0 run midway through the final frame to take a 58-54...
