by Erin Franklin | Mar 2, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
Tennis player Alejandro Manzanares scanned the room as he walked in, alert to his surroundings yet eager to sit down and share his story — traits he’s acquired from growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, considered to be the most dangerous city in the world due to its high murder rate. The junior international business major came to Lipscomb his freshman year after being recruited by tennis coach Mario Hernandez. He was the No. 1 player in Venezuela in the 18 and under division and was in Hernandez’s second class of recruits. “He’s been one of our best recruits, highest-ranked internationally and one of our best performers,” Hernandez said. “He plays very tough, disciplined tennis. Not flashy, but really solid.” The athlete had never set foot on campus before arriving for move-in day, yet said his plan had always been to come to the United States for college. “I never had much to do with my recruiting,” Manzanares said. “I just talked to the coach twice, signed two papers, and then, there you go, I’m at Lipscomb. I just showed up on move-in day. You come here, and everything is nice. Everything is clean. You can’t really complain about anything.” Although he had traveled to the States before and was familiar with the country, he noted that coming to the school was still a big jump from what he was used to back home. “I’d been in the U.S. a couple times, but Lipscomb is very different,” Manzanares said. “Like very, very different. Venezuela is just a mess right now. I, honestly . . . I wouldn’t go back today,...
by LeBron Hill | Feb 28, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
Over the weekend, Lipscomb baseball hosted the Mule Mix Classic and took home a winning record of 2-1, beating Northwestern and Bowling Green while coming up short against Missouri State. The Bisons first faced Bowling Green and did not have a problem handling the Falcons. The game was low-scoring, with only two runs that were both scored by the Bisons. Brady Puckett was on the mound for the Bisons, pitching a complete game. The Bisons beat the Falcons 2-0. Up next was the Missouri State team. The Bisons were ahead by the fourth inning but the Bears took the lead in the sixth. By the start of the eighth inning, the Bisons were down 4-3. Because of a home run hit by Michael Gigliotti, the Bisons tied the game 4-4 and headed into extra innings. By the end of the 11th inning, the Bisons failed to score two men on base and lost to the Bears 6-4. The last game of the tournament was against the Northwestern Wildcats. The game showcased ten pitchers in total on the mound. The game had nine pass balls and wild pitches. “We get used to playing three games in a row,” head coach Jeff Forehand said. “It’s something that is not unusual for them.” The Wildcats came into the game with a record of 0-5. At the top of the second inning, the Wildcats took a 2-0 lead. The Bisons came back in the bottom of the second, scoring six runs to take a 6-2 lead. In the top of the seventh, Northwestern’s Matt Hopfner hit a Grand Slam, making the score 8-6. The Bisons were able to stack more runs onto their...
by Cole Gray | Feb 28, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
A reverse dunk from Eli Pepper and a behind-the-back assist from Nathan Moran to Garrison Mathews for a three-pointer punctuated the blistering 29-7 run that propelled the Lipscomb men’s basketball team to a 97-66, wire-to-wire win over the NJIT Highlanders in the first round of the ASUN Tournament. Lipscomb opened up the game shooting 12-14 from the field, burying the Highlanders early and cruising to the finish. Sophomores Eli Pepper and Garrison Mathews in particular poured in 28 in the first period on 11-14 shooting. The Bisons finished the game shooting 61.3% from the field. The win put Lipscomb at the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Coach Casey Alexander said that the key to keeping the pressure on a team after running out to a big lead is simply trying to win each individual possession. “We try really hard just to concentrate on the next possession and being solid, doing our job, and trusting that if we do that enough, then good things will happen,” Alexander said. “Over the course of time, that’s how you win a game like this, or even a close game.” NJIT played without all-time leading scorer Damon Lynn, who tore his Achilles tendon in January. Sophomore guard Reilly Walsh kept the Highlanders in the game in the first half with a pair of timely threes, and Tim Coleman dunked all over Mathews in transition to attempt to spark a comeback late in the half, but Moran and Josh Williams canned threes in the last two minutes of the first period to push the lead back up to 19 at...
by George Wong | Feb 24, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s baseball team officially began its much anticipated season over the weekend with a 2-1 series victory over Oakland University. The Bisons hosted the Oakland Grizzlies with a three-day series starting on Friday at the Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Marsh Stadium. After a slow start during the opening game, the Bisons got into rhythm and won the first game with a 7-3 win. The second series was a much closer affair; the Bisons would edge past the Grizzlies 3-2 after junior Lee Solomons scored two home runs to seal the deal. The third and final game would be an epic and high scoring encounter with Oakland, giving plenty of fight. Lipscomb was unable to recover from an early deficit and eventually succumbed to the Grizzlies pressure in a 16-11 slugfest. The Bisons will face Middle Tennessee with a mid-week matchup beginning Tuesday at Dugan Field before hosting the Mule Mix Classic next weekend. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
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...
