Women’s basketball bests Bellarmine for first ASUN victory

Women’s basketball bests Bellarmine for first ASUN victory

The Lipscomb women’s basketball team took down second-year ASUN opponents Bellarmine 65-54 Saturday afternoon at Allen Arena. Weathering a flurry of long-range shots from the Knights, Lipscomb came back from a 5-point deficit at the end of the 1st quarter, dominating Bellarmine defensively in the second half to pick up their 6th win of the year. Bellarmine shot 83% from deep in the first quarter, scoring 15 points on 3-balls in that first period alone. As the visitors cooled off, though, Lipscomb found their rhythm. “I think for us, it’s all about trusting the process and sticking to what we know is going to give us the most success in the long run,” assistant coach Chris Sumski said. “Our kids are just mentally tough and do a good job of not getting discouraged and just trusting the gameplan.” A balanced, consistent scoring attack saw three Bisons score in double figures. Second-year freshman guard Jordan Peete led the team in scoring for the second straight game, following up a 23-point outing at Jacksonville State in midweek with 16 points against Bellarmine. The St. Louis-born point guard went 5-8 from the field, including a 2-3 3-point mark, and shot 4-6 from the free throw line. True freshman power forward Bella Vinson stepped up in a major way, scoring in double figures for the 5th time this season and earning a career high in points with 14. Hailing from Manchester, Tennessee, Vinson started her 5th game as a Bison, slotting in for senior center Dorie Harrison. Harrison suffered an ankle injury against Jacksonville State in Lipscomb’s previous game and did not dress...
Women’s basketball falls just short at Jacksonville State

Women’s basketball falls just short at Jacksonville State

JACKSONVILLE, Alabama – The Lipscomb women’s basketball team lost their ASUN opener to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 80-70 Wednesday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Despite a high-octane performance on both sides of the ball by second-year freshman Jordan Peete, the Bisons came up short after the Gamecocks scored 49 points in the second half. Peete led the Bisons offensively with 23 points on 10-15 shooting, including 3-6 on 3-pointers. The St. Louis native also collected two rebounds, an assist, a steal, and multiple tipped balls while committing just one turnover. “I felt good,” Peete said. “I felt like I had the energy and I wanted everybody to feed off [of it], so I kept going.” “We’ve been out for a minute,” Peete said, “so we were a little winded, but I think we were together. We wanted this win–we wanted it as a whole, so I think that we fed off each other’s energy.” Bolstering the Bisons was the addition of sophomore guard Jalyn Holcomb to the lineup after an injury in November forced her to miss 9 games. Holcomb put up 23 minutes in her first game back and shot 4-8 from the floor to produce 9 points for the Bisons. Sophomore guard Blythe Pearson entered the game with the joint-leading 3-point percentage in the nation at 49.23%, but was only able to manage 2-8 shooting from three on the night. The Overland Park, Kansas-born shooting guard finished with 10 points in 35 minutes. Senior center Dorie Harrison scored 4 of the Bisons’ first 6 points, going 2-2 shooting in the first 3 minutes to help Lipscomb to...
Asadullah’s 32-point outing not enough, men’s basketball beaten by Bears

Asadullah’s 32-point outing not enough, men’s basketball beaten by Bears

The Lipscomb men’s basketball team lost to the Central Arkansas Bears 93-88 Sunday afternoon in Conway, Arkansas. The rescheduled game that was originally planned to take place Saturday but was moved due to travel conditions marked Lipscomb’s highest points total in a loss this season and their 4th-highest total in any game. Junior center Ahsan Asadullah scored 30 or more points for the second straight game, but despite his double-double with 32 points and 11 rebounds, Lipscomb came up short. Asadullah shot 15-20 from the floor and added five assists. Sophomore guard K.J. Johnson added 13 points and four rebounds for Lipscomb. The Lewisburg native also led the Bisons with seven assists. Asadullah, Johnson, freshman point guard Will Pruitt, graduate forward Parker Hazen, and junior wing Greg Jones all scored in double digits as five of only six players to score for the Bisons. Eddy Kayouloud paced the Bears with 18 points, scoring all 18 in the first half. Darious Hall scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for UCA. Lipscomb got out to a quick start, leading by seven points at multiple times in the first 10 minutes. They upped the lead to nine at 17-8 when Kayouloud first entered the game and scored 14 straight points for the Bears, cutting their deficit to 23-22. The two sides traded the lead, but the home team went up by six with 4:15 to go in the half. Pruitt put together a four-point play on a made 3-pointer and a foul to cut the lead to 2, and Lipscomb would further cut the lead to 1 on a 3-pointer from...
COVID breakout pushes back two straight ASUN games for women’s basketball

COVID breakout pushes back two straight ASUN games for women’s basketball

The Lipscomb women’s basketball team’s ASUN-opening game against the North Alabama Lions has officially been postponed, per a release from Lipscomb Athletics Wednesday at 4:22 PM local time. The first game against was scheduled to tip off at 7 PM, leaving less than three hours between the official announcement and the scheduled start time. The reason given for the postponement was a COVID-19 outbreak among the Lipscomb camp. North Alabama had already made the two-hour trip to Nashville before the announcement. The public statement from Lipscomb Athletics was released to their website and reads in full: “Due to COVID-19 protocols, Wednesday night’s game against North Alabama has been postponed indefinitely. “Stay tuned to @LipscombWBB on Twitter and www.lipscombsports.com for any further updates.” North Alabama also released a statement on their athletics website, RoarLions.com, that offered more insight into the situation. Their statement includes the addition that “due to a positive COVID-19 case and contact tracing within the Bisons’ program, the ASUN contest scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 5 has been postponed.” The UNA statement also included that “a makeup date will be announced at a later time.” In an update from the original story, Lipscomb’s second conference game of the season, an away trip to Central Arkansas, was also postponed Wednesday. The cancellation is presumably due to the same outbreak within the Lipscomb team. The Lipscomb website released a similar cut-and-paste statement on their website, refusing to make any further information public regarding the team’s COVID-19 cases. When requested by Lumination, details on who has been affected within the Lipscomb squad and how many players have tested positive...
New Year’s Resolutions: previewing 2022 for Lipscomb Athletics

New Year’s Resolutions: previewing 2022 for Lipscomb Athletics

As the 2022 calendar year kicks off, many of Lipscomb’s athletics teams are preparing for action this winter and spring. In the spirit of the New Year’s holiday, here are resolutions each sport in action this semester might have heading into a new year. Baseball Resolution: remember the bitter taste of last year’s exit. Lipscomb baseball might be the most underrated team on campus, and their difficult first-round loss to Kennesaw State in the ASUN Tournament was not a fitting way for their season to end. They lost 14-1 and 10-2 in a pair of blowouts in north Georgia after splitting the season series 3-3 with the Owls in the regular season. This year, the Bisons should have a chip on their shoulder to avoid a similar exit from the postseason in 2022. The baseball season kicks off February 18-20 at Dugan Field when the Bisons host the Akron Zips on their opening weekend. Lipscomb will look to build on last year’s 18-29 record. Men’s Basketball Resolution: fix the turnover margin. Gift-giving season is over, and the Bisons need to stop giving away possession on cheap passing errors and mental mistakes. The last time Lipscomb held the ball and were effective with their possessions was their last real success, a 19-point win over mid-major giants Dayton in their home arena. With conference play starting and star center Ahsan Asadullah returning from a 9-game absence for injury, now is the perfect time to limit the turnovers and score more effectively. The team enters the new year with a tight win over Alabama A&M to up their overall record to 7-8,...
Men’s basketball weathers unexpected challenge, staves off one-win Bulldogs at home

Men’s basketball weathers unexpected challenge, staves off one-win Bulldogs at home

The Lipscomb men’s basketball team won to the Alabama A&M’s Bulldogs 66-63 Thursday night in a close whiplash of a battle at Allen Arena, home of the Bisons. A principal player for the night was freshman forward Jacob Ognacevic, spending 29 minutes on the court and making 16 points for the Bisons. Not only did he lead the team in points, but he also lead them in rebounds, producing 8 of them.  Sophomore guard KJ Johnson made 12 points for the Bisons, including 6-7 free throw shooting at crucial times in the game. Freshman guard Will Pruitt got 7 rebounds as well as made 3-4 three-pointers, gathering a total of 11 points for the team. A highlight of the night was seeing junior center Ahsan Asadullah join the court for the first time since his injury, playing a total of 17 minutes. Atlanta-born Asadullah stepped onto the court for the first time in over a month due to his leg injury, getting cheers from the sidelines and spectators, especially when he scored his first 7 points for the team since November.  Alabama A&M led off with the ball, but it was quickly turned over to Lipscomb and back again to the Bulldogs in which EJ Williams scored the first two points for Alabama with a layup.  Johnson missed an attempt to respond, and freshman point guard Will Pruitt made a jumper on an offensive rebound, bringing them even with Alabama A&M early. Pruitt added a 3-pointer on the next possession, but the Bulldogs quickly pulled a 3-pointer back thanks to Garrett Hicks, who led the visitors with 19 points....