by Charissa Ricker | Jan 14, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb (3-14, 0-2) suffered a tough loss to Florida Gulf Coast (13-6, 2-0) in Allen Arena on Saturday afternoon with a final score of 63-90. The Lady Bisons kept in pace with the aggressive team with a leading score during the first period, but FGCU took the lead toward the end of the second period. With a halftime score of 28-44, Lipscomb came out strong in an effort to close the 16 point FGCU lead. Within the third minute of the third period, FGCU had already fouled five times allowing the Lady Bisons to gain multiple free throw points, which ended up being one third of their total points. “Offensively we did a good job of getting the ball inside,” Head Coach Greg Brown said. “We got to the free throw line and shot 26 free throws, and that’s excellent right there.” The Lady Bisons topped FGCU in number of free throws and rebounds; however, they were unable to return within a 20 point range of FGCU. “What we didn’t do well is we knew we had to take away their lane-right drives, and we didn’t take away their open threes,” Coach Brown said. “We didn’t consistently do that and that gave us that result there.” Despite the devastating lead by FGCU, the Lady Bisons continued to play aggressively until the end, letting FGCU score no more than nine points in the last period. Junior Riley Northway led the Lady Bisons with a score of 17 points, while junior Morgan Turner led with six rebounds and junior Loren Cagle gained a team-best four assists. The Lady Bisons play their...
by Eric Ansett | Jan 13, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
For the first time since the 2008-09 season, the Lipscomb men’s basketball team has won six straight games and is showing no signs of slowing down. The Bisons made quick work of Stetson on Thursday night, dominating from the opening tip and cruising to a 94-68 victory in Allen Arena. Lipscomb never trailed in the game, jumping out to a quick lead on several backdoor cuts for layups. The Bisons struggled from the 3-point line all night, going just 2-17, but used strong post play and aggressive driving to dismantle Stetson’s defense. “The first half was the best we’ve played all year,” Coach Casey Alexander said after the game. “That was evidenced by the fact that we were 2-12 from three and still had a 22 point lead, so I was very pleased with that.” Freshman guard Kenny Cooper sparked a 19-5 run at the end of the first half to extend the lead to 49-27. He got to the hoop with ease all night and finished with 14 points on 6-7 shooting. “Probably the best part of the night for me was seeing Kenny play with a different gear,” Alexander said. “Hopefully he can use this and take off from here.” The most dominating part of the night, however, came from the Lipscomb big-men. Forward Eli Pepper recorded a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds and Center Rob Marberry scored 23 points on 10-13 shooting to lead the Bisons in scoring. Lipscomb manhandled Stetson on the boards 47-28. “Tonight they (the bigs) were particularly important because we weren’t scoring from the 3-point-line like we usually do,” Alexander...
by Cole Gray | Dec 9, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The new hole below his right knee matched the old one in his left. It matched the hole he had surgically repaired in June 2015. That surgery forced him to sit out his first off-season and limp through his sophomore season. They told him it would go away with rest, but that’s the same thing they said last year — before it came back. Lipscomb guard Aaron Korn had lived through this before, and he didn’t know if he could get through it again. “I was having doubts if I was going to be able to play this year,” the junior said. “I had doubts that it would never be the same or that I would ever be healthy again, because the exact same thing happened last year. It started creeping in, and I didn’t know if I was gonna play or be the same ever again.” But the stress fracture healed on its own, and Korn is averaging career-high minutes and has improved in every single statistical category this season. Just months after wondering about his future in college basketball, the six-foot-four guard is leading Lipscomb in three-point percentage at a blistering 44% clip, averaging the third-most rebounds on the team and has been playing at least 19 minutes in all but two games. Korn developed a stress fracture in his left tibia, just below the knee, about a month after the last game of his freshman year. Team trainers shut him down for the rest of the off-season workout period, but once he tried to return, something wasn’t right. The fracture was still there. He underwent surgery, including...
by KJ Lauck | Dec 7, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The 138th Battle of the Boulevard did not disappoint as the Lipscomb Bisons fell to their arch-rival, Belmont Bruins, 78-76 during overtime in a sold-out Allen Arena. Lipscomb sprinted to an early 10-4 lead, thanks to threes by freshman Kenny Cooper and sophomore Garrison Mathews. The Bisons controlled the game early. The Purple and Gold fed off the energy of the home crowd. Mathews played with tenacity and passion, diving on the floor for loose balls and attacking the rim with back-to-back and-ones, converting on the second. “That’s the great thing about, Garrison he’s a tremendous competitor,” head coach Casey Alexander said. Junior Nathan Moran jumped into action hitting back-to-back threes, pushing Lipscomb to a 10-point lead midway through the first half, 19-9. The Bisons played smart and well-timed team defense throughout the first 10 minutes, holding the Bruins to just nine points. Belmont would use a big dunk to fuel a run as the Lipscomb lead stood at seven, 26-19, near the end of the first half. Moran hit another big three-pointer, which extended the Bison lead to 31-23 and then hit back-to-back free throws to give Lipscomb a 10 point lead, 33-23. Freshman Kenny Cooper made his presence felt as he sprinted down the court with five seconds left in the half and hit a layup with a half second left to give Lipscomb a 10-point lead once more. “That’s what he can do, and he’s a freshman,” Alexander said, “so he’s trying to figure it out, but these games right here help him grow up a lot.” Belmont came out of the half and scored six quick points to cut the lead...
by Tyler Harvey | Dec 4, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Bisons (3-7) took on their in-state rival, the Tennessee State Tigers (7-1), Saturday afternoon inside Allen Arena, with the Bisons eventually falling to the Tigers 72-71. TSU won the tip-off, but Lipscomb still got off to a hot start. Four minutes into the game, the Bisons led 10-2, thanks to a 50% FG percentage and making 100% of their 3’s to start the game. Sophomore Forward Eli Pepper was a big part of the Bisons’ early successes, making both of his first two chances from the three-point line. However, the Tigers took their third lead of the game with five minutes left in the first half. The Tigers led the Bisons at the half 41-36. TSU was able to take advantage of the Bisons on the boards in the first half thanks to their size. Lipscomb was outscored in the paint 18-6, and out-rebounded 28-17 in the first half. Sophomore center Rob Marberry led the Bison’s in points going into the half with 13. “They were really good on the boards and took it to us early,” Lipscomb Head Coach Casey Alexander said after the first half. Alexander said the team needed to pick it up in the second half. “Play tougher, play with more confidence, be ready to step up and make shots, rebound better and get loose balls better,” Alexander noted. Tennessee State started with the ball going into the second half and was able to make its first shot, a three to extend the lead to 44-36. The Tigers were able to keep their lead for most of the second half, but they weren’t...
by Todd Lamberth | Dec 3, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
For the third consecutive year, Lipscomb volleyball’s season ended in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Lady Bisons travelled to Manhattan, Kansas to take on fourteenth-ranked Kansas State, where they fell in three sets Friday night. Lipscomb jumped to an early, 8-3 lead in the first set, but the Wildcats were able to rally and even things up to take the set 28-26. The Wildcats would carry that momentum into the second set, where they lead 24-8 before Lipscomb reeled off seven points in a row. Kansas State was able to get the set point, however, taking a two set lead. The Lady Bisons continued battling in the third, but came up short as the Wildcats won the set 26-24 and the match in three sets. Despite being eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the seventh time, head coach Brandon Rosenthal was proud of the way the team battled. “This is where we are as a team,” Rosenthal said, “we are playing good teams and good teams are going to make plays. I am not disappointed at all. I loved our fight. I think we took a step forward in coming out and being in a position to win sets. We worked really hard to do that.” While Kansas State was able to sweep the sets, sets one and three were a testament to how close the match actually was. “To be in a match where we have chances to win it is what we always talk about… the opportunities,” Rosenthal said. “I thought we did a great job in one and three. I thought we were really...
