by Danielle Kinnen | Feb 26, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb men’s basketball lost 73-57 in their final regular season game against Kennesaw State on Thursday evening. “Tonight was a miserable performance and a miserable night on our bench,” Lipscomb head coach Casey Alexander said. “We’ve got some soul searching to do or it will be a quick tournament appearance for us next week.” The Owls took control of the first half (39-36) as they managed to shift the energy in their favor after trailing the Bisons by 10 points at the beginning. “We never really had any momentum,” Alexander said. “We were able to keep the game close but we weren’t doing anything spectacular by any shape or form – we got what we deserved.” The Bisons made only 4-of-32 three pointers on the night. “We say the right things but there wasn’t anyone at this game tonight that saw the right things from my team.” Alexander said. “We got to play more, we got to play harder, execute better and just perform better.” The Purple and Gold were led by freshman guard Garrison Mathews with 16 points. Last week Mathews received the Atlantic Sun Newcomer of the week. He was joined by sophomore George Brammeier, who scored 15 points. Lipscomb’s defense play kept them in the game, but they were unable to turn it around. “We weren’t making any plays,” Alexander said. “There was never a moment in the game where we felt things were turning in our direction.” Lipscomb honored J.J. Butler, Talbot Denny, Dylan Greene, Charles Smith and David Wishon in a pregame ceremony in their final home regular season game. The Bisons open the 2016 A-Sun Championship as the...
by Charlie Bateman | Feb 24, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Bisons sit at fifth place in the Atlantic Sun conference, having won seven of the last 10 games. If the team defeats Kennesaw State on Thursday, and if North Florida beats Jacksonville on Thursday, the Bisons will be guaranteed a top four seed in the playoffs, possibly being seeded as the number two team in the tournament. The Atlantic Sun men’s basketball tournament features a new format this year. The top four seeds in the conference will host the first round of the tournament at their respective gymnasium. The top two seeds of each round will host a round in the tournament as well. Because of this, Lipscomb could possibly host more than one playoff round at home. In the event of a tie, there are four ways to determine which team advances in the tournament, according to Atlantic Sun representative Patrick McCoy. First, the season record of all teams involved will be weighed against one another. The win/loss record between the two teams would determine which team moves on. Second, the winning percentage of all teams involved will be taken under advisement. The team with the highest winning percentage would receive the highest seed placement. Third, if the seeds are not determined by one of the preceding two tie-breakers, all tied teams will compare winning percentages against the highest seeded team that is not part of the tie. In this case, all teams would compare win/loss records with the number one seeded team, North Florida. If the first three possible tie-breakers fail to select the seed placement, the ratings power index (RPI) of each team will be taken into consideration. This is a ranking system based on a team’s...
by Becca Risley | Feb 23, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
They came to discuss fame, music and world travels. But more than that, Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren Gregory came to The Gathering Tuesday morning to discuss their faith story and how God uses them in the industry to which they were called. “We could not be more opposite,” Gregory said. “I’m often asking God ‘why in the world you put me with him in this career.’ Everything I thought I would be doing is absolutely not what is going on in my life right now, but it’s so cool because no matter what we do, it’s very evident to me that God has us right where he wants us. “That makes me feel good – knowing that He’s walking us through it and that it’s for His glory and not for ours.” Rhett and his wife began their love story in the first grade. While he always chased a life centered around music, Lauren earned a nursing degree and had dreams of serving people across the world. Little did she know that God had other plans for the direction of their life together. “It’s become a new normal for us,” she said. “It’s cool to be able to support him and see how God has taken him from this super-cool, emo, black hair kid in middle school doing the ‘High Heeled Flip Flops’ band to opening up for Jason Aldean this year. “It’s obvious that God has put him in this industry for a reason. And as long as He just keeps putting the stepping stones in front of him and us as a couple, we’re just...
by Katie Bianchini | Feb 22, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Ominous burlap giants loom over the stage and stare facelessly at guests as they enter Shamblin Theater. These statues set the mood for Lipscomb University and Blackbird Theater’s combined performance of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which opened Friday night. The controversial play, set in 1690s Salem, Massachusetts during the witch trials, tells the fictional story of the town’s reaction toward a group of teen girls caught participating in an innocent conjuring. The girls soon name other women involved in the “satanic” behavior and the court convicts many for hanging. Producer Beki Baker shared in her director’s note that The Crucible’s dark portrayal of the early American event still provides relevant themes that “continue to reverberate throughout time.” “This play serves more than to point fingers at religious figures and political systems for over 300 years ago,” she said. “On both macro and micro-levels, we all behave like the Puritans did that fateful spring. And the truth is, we all pay the price.” At Sunday’s show, Lipscomb students had their first of three opportunities to earn chapel credit for attending and staying afterward for a post-play discussion. Dr. Randy Spivey, Academic Director for Lipscomb’s Institute of Law, Justice and Society, joined the audience for the question and answer session to shed light on the play’s narrative on current American law and society. “We are always the brink of this hysteria,” he said, relating the chaos in the play to the nation today. “And we almost always condemn, crucify and isolate the things that we are afraid of and the things that we don’t understand.” Just as characters in the play find fault in...
by Todd Lamberth | Feb 21, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Despite dropping the season opener 13-7, the Bisons bounced back to take the series against the Colonels with a 4-2 win on Saturday and a 3-2 win on Sunday afternoon at Ken Dugan Field. Eastern Kentucky took the game on opening day with 20 runs scored and two homeruns. The Colonels jumped out to a 4-0 lead, including a three run first inning, before the Bisons could get their offense going in the fourth inning. Lipscomb was able to tie the score at 4-4 by the end of the fifth inning. Eastern Kentucky took an 8-7 lead into the ninth inning. The Colonels extended the lead to two runs before a grand slam put the score at 13-8, a deficit the Bisons could not overcome. Despite the loss, Lipscomb head coach Jeff Forehand was pleased with the offensive output he saw. “It goes without saying that we are obviously disappointed with the loss, but I think we have a chance to be really dynamic offensively,” Forehand said. “It’s hard to win games when you give up double-digit runs.” On Saturday, sophomore pitcher Jeffrey Passantino stifled the Eastern Kentucky hitters. Passantino finished his first start of the new season after seven strong innings. On his way to a 4-2 win, Passantino allowed seven hits and one run while striking out seven Colonels and not walking any. “Jeff had a great game on the mound. You don’t really realize it as the game is going on, but when you look at the stats and see his numbers, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Forehand said. The Bisons were boosted on offense by their three, four and...
by Danielle Kinnen | Feb 21, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s tennis team finished the weekend with a 4-1 loss to end their three-match winning streak on Saturday against University of Alabama at Birmingham at Richland Country Club. The Purple and Gold (3-5) were unable to use their previous win against Illinois State as momentum into Saturday’s match. The Bisons started off the dual matches by mixing up their doubles teams to lean more to their aggressive playing at the net. Senior John Tougher and junior Rob Mitchell combined to take the lead before play was stopped. In singles, Mitchell got the first win out of the two teams as he stepped up to take his fourth win in a row. “[Mitchell] did really well today, especially mentally,” head coach Mario Hernandez said. “He was locked in early. That’s what we want from all of our guys — focus on your job.” The singles continued from positions two through six, where the teams battled it out in a match that mimicked conference play. “It was a tough match but we needed a intense environment that would imitate a conference match,” Hernandez said. “It is all about building experience to where we go into conference feeling comfortable with tight matches.” At the two spot, sophomore Alejandro Manzanares, lead in both sets but was unable to hold his serve against Eric Komati who pulled out the win 7-5, 6-4. The Blazers (4-3) received their fourth point against sophomore Philippe Courteau, who lost two intense tie-breakers (7-6, 7-6) against Christian Coetzee at the third line. “I’m really proud of the boys battling it out on every court but it is just the...
