by Myckelle Williams | Feb 22, 2017 | News Slider
Lipscomb hosted “Conversations of Significance,” featuring guest speaker Captain Ronald S. Johnson, to discuss what communities and individuals can do during crisis situations. The event was put on in an effort to ease tensions between the Nashville law enforcement and community members and facilitate conversation following the Nashville shooting death of Jocques Clemmons, a 31-year old African American man. Johnson was a captain with the Missouri Highway Patrol and was named commander of Ferguson operations on August 14, 2014, after the shooting of unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson. Missouri. He was named as one of CNN’s Extraordinary people of 2014. At times, Johnson said he felt he could not do the job required of him, yet he consistently relied on his belief in God to stay strong. “Leadership is not about luck, it’s about faith,” Johnson said. The shooting of Brown occurred on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a northern suburb of St. Louis. Brown, an 18-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot after robbing a convenience store by Darren Wilson, 28, a Caucasian Ferguson police officer. On the first day of Johnson’s command, he marched with protesters down West Florissant Avenue — an effort that eased tensions among protestors, and what many hoped indicated an improving relationship between law enforcement and the Ferguson community. Johnson said that he was unaware at first that he would be placed in such a position, but he was both humbled and overwhelmed to the point where he would often be brought to tears when watching his city erupt in chaos and violence. In a November interview with Esquire, Johnson admitted that his days as commander were intense and stressful. “I’m...
by Joel Clinger | Feb 21, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons battled hard in Allen Arena on Saturday but dropped their fifth game in a row to Jacksonville 73-67. After falling to a 10-2 deficit at the beginning of the game, Lipscomb went on a 12-2 run and ended the first quarter with a 19-18 lead. Following that run, Jacksonville led most of the first half, holding a 39-35 lead at halftime. Loshaveon Jones filled in well, keeping Lipscomb in the game in the first half scoring 11 points with 5 rebounds. Alex Banks took charge in the third quarter scoring 12 of her 18 points on four three pointers in that quarter alone. Assistant Coach Courtney Locke praised both Jones and Banks’ performance. “The biggest thing that Shay (Loshaveon) and Alex did was hit the offensive boards, and I think that was crucial in putting Jacksonville on their heels,” Locke said. Riley Northway, who has seemed like a sparkplug at times this season for the Lady Bisons, took a seat on the bench as she picked up her third foul just 38 seconds into the second quarter. The teams traded the lead back and forth throughout the rest of the game. Jacksonville forward Kayla Gordon fouled out, and two other Dolphins finished with four fouls. “The one thing that Jacksonville doesn’t want to do is foul, so putting them into position to guard us off the dribble was a big part of the game plan,” Locke said. “I thought we executed it very well.” That game plan kept the game close all the way to the end. Meredith Lovelady’s attempt of a go-ahead three for Lipscomb rimmed...
by Tanner Allen | Feb 20, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins 81-69 Saturday night in Allen Arena to secure a top-two seed in the A-Sun Tournament on Senior Night. The Bisons were coming off a poor shooting performance against North Florida where the team shot 24% from behind the arc, but they weren’t going to let that carry over into the game against the Dolphins. Lipscomb shot 44% from behind the 3-point line going 14-34 led by junior forward, Garrison Matthews. Matthews led both teams in points (28) and rebounds (8), while knocking down seven three-pointers, and dishing out six assists. “My teammates got me a lot of wide open threes by driving in and kicking it out to me,” Matthews said. Junior guard Nathan Moran also had a big impact for the Bisons, as he had 21 points while hitting five three-pointers, and picking up eight assists. The Bisons had the opportunity to honor the three seniors on the team this year; Brett Wishon, Cam Miller, and Josh Williams. “All three of these guys have pretty unique stories,” Head Coach Casey Alexander says. “All of these guys have battled every single day that they have been here, and they continue to find ways to contribute.” With just one game remaining in the regular season, the Bisons have an opportunity to earn the number-one seed in the tournament, but they are going to need some help. In order for the Bison’s to secure the seed they need three things to happen: 1) The Bisons have to beat Kennesaw State 2) Florida Gulf Coast has to lose their game to Stetson 3) USC Upstate has to beat NJIT The Bisons’ next game is...
by Savannah Stewart | Feb 20, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Opening April 6-8 in Collins Alumni Auditorium is Lipscomb’s annual musical showcase, Singarama. This event features talents from all students, but specifically those in social clubs. Students are divided into three teams and will each put on a show with a complete storyline, song selection and choreography. The theme for this year is “A Blast From The Past” and will only feature music from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Each team was given a specific era and title from which to pull inspiration. The titles are “Far Out” (70s), directed by Meg Mortensen, “Totally Awesome” (80s), directed by Bethany Rowland and “Party On” (90s), directed by Jade Cummings. “We’re trying to do some different things, a different kind of show,” Mortensen said. “Be looking for 70s lingo.” Rowland is taking a different approach with her show for “Totally Awesome” and has based the show at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. “We are going to have five or six leads that will be really conflicting and really fun, and there will be a couple of plot twists here or there,” she said. “My junior year of high school after watching Singarama, I told my mom, ‘Yeah, I’m going to come to Lipscomb.’” For “Party On,” Cummings said she wants the audience to be on the lookout for iconic costumes from the 90s. “Cause who doesn’t love a ‘Rachel Green’ or a ‘Clueless’ type attire,” she said. “I love the music. We had so much fun finding music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and I’m really excited for the audience participation.” Singarama’s three directors agree that the show unifies students, alumni and community attendees. “It’s a great way...
by Erin Franklin | Feb 20, 2017 | News Slider
Five journalism students and Dr. Jimmy McCollum went to the 2017 Southeastern Journalism Conference at the University of Mississippi Feb. 16-18, bringing home a total of seven awards. Senior Whitney Smith, Junior Becca Risley, Sophomores Anna Rogers and Erin Franklin and Freshman Charissa Ricker competed in the on-site competitions at the conference. Ricker won third place in the Arts and Entertainment category. “The on site competition really helped teach me what it’s like to be a journalist working in the field and writing stories in real time,” Ricker said. “I also learned that in this career field you are going to get knocked down, but you always need to get back up and let that experience make you a better journalist and a stronger person.” Lipscomb’s off-site competition submissions consisted of stories, photography and TV news and radio packages that students worked on during 2016. Risley placed third in Arts and Entertainment, Smith placed fifth in TV Hard News Reporting, Senior Erin Turner placed second in the Best Multimedia Journalist category and Senior Brooke Dorris placed fifth in TV Feature Reporting. Lumination Radio also won two awards — third place, Best College Radio Station, and second place, Best College Audio Program. “SEJC was such a great experience,” Ricker added. “I loved getting to listen to experienced journalists talk about their career.” Colleges from all across the Southeast were in attendance, and students had the opportunity to hear multiple expert guest speakers during panels and sessions, which included a special presentation which focused on the “Assault on the Media.” Next year’s conference will take place at Harding University in February...
by Eric Ansett | Feb 19, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
If the Lipscomb men’s basketball team wants to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance, it may need to figure out a way to stop Dallas Moore. UNF’s senior star scored a career-high 39 points on Thursday night in Allen Arena to sweep the season series and end Lipscomb’s six-game win streak. Moore is now responsible for the Bisons last two losses. The Atlantic Sun scoring leader (23.5 PPG) dropped 36 in the Osprey’s win over Lipscomb in January. The Bisons (17-12, 9-3), fell to second-place in the conference standings with the loss, one game behind FGCU, who narrowly defeated NJIT 80-73. With only two games left in the regular season, Lipscomb now needs a loss by FGCU to share the conference title and have a chance at earning home-court advantage throughout the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Coach Casey Alexander was disappointed in his team’s performance in such a crucial game, especially on the defensive end, where North Florida shot a blistering 64.1% from the field. “Our common theme all night was trying to find a spark, and I think we came ready to play, but we didn’t have anything extra when we needed to have it,” Alexander said. “I think our guys were hoping something good would come their way instead of making something happen. “We’ve had enough games that we’ve won this year where we didn’t play well on offense like tonight, and that’s where the biggest disappointment is. We didn’t do anything on defense to cause them any worries at all.” The Bisons struggled with North Florida’s extended 2-3 zone, shooting 44.3% from the field and just 8-for-33...
