by Eric Ansett | Dec 2, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Head Coach Casey Alexander’s biggest concern for his team on Thursday night was how they would respond after a heartbreaking loss two days ago. His concerns were put at ease. The Lipscomb men’s basketball team got off to a torrid start on its way to a 24-point halftime lead and cruised to a 104-85 win over Tennessee Tech in Allen Arena. The Bisons (3-6) lost a thriller to rival Belmont (64-62) on Tuesday after leading for most of the contest. “We came out ready to play, which was the big question coming off the Belmont game,” coach Alexander said. “We showed a lot of maturity by playing hard and establishing a lead, and the margin that we created was huge.” Lipscomb shot the lights out in the first half, going 61.5% from the field and 9-for-12 from three-point land as it built a 54-30 lead going into the break. Josh Williams led the way for the Bisons, scoring 18 points in the first half and connecting on four of his six three-pointers. The team’s offensive outburst was a stark contrast to the Belmont game, where Lipscomb shot an anemic 1-for-16 from downtown. “We’re gonna make our share of shots if we get good looks,” Alexander said. “I just felt like we executed really well, and that’s all I can ask for.” Williams, who missed most of last season with a torn ACL, finished with a season-high 20 points in the game. “He’s been such a great player here, and we need him to be a real force for us,” Alexander said. “He’s still trying to figure out what he can and can’t...
by KJ Lauck | Nov 30, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons (1-6) fell to the rival Belmont Bruins (4-4) 100-62 on Tuesday night at Belmont’s Curb Event Center. Belmont outscored the Purple and Gold 27-10 in the first 10 minutes and never looked back, as the Bruins would pour on 16 three-pointers. “Too many points, too many easy baskets we gave up,” head coach Greg Brown said. The rival Bruins also had five players score double-digit points, including leading scorer Darby Maggard, who had 18. Lipscomb’s leading scorer was senior Alex Banks, who also had 18 points to go along with seven rebounds. “Being a senior that’s what we need the most from her,” Brown said. “She played very physical and played efficient inside.” Lipscomb looks to right the ship Saturday against Morehead State at 11 a.m. in Morehead, KY. Additional reporting and photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Lindsey Nance | Nov 20, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The perfect word to describe the Bison’s play Saturday night is relentless, as the team came onto the court with a fiery will to win and a refusal to be defeated. The crowd was alive in Allen Arena for the second face off between Lipscomb and FGCU in an ASUN championship game. The Bisons went into the game 21-7. No. 3 seed FGCU was 27-5. “It is part of the program,” Rosenthal said. “Since 2007 we have been in every championship match except for one.” Although Lipscomb was the favored winner, the victory did not come easily. Lipscomb took sets one and two before falling in the third set. The Bisons rallied together to take set four in a nail biter 25-23. The Bison dominated the first set with hard hitting kills 25-16. The second set was back and forth with Lipscomb ahead most of the match all the way up to 16-14. Taylor Racich took control of the set with her legendary jump serve and pushed FGCU to a timeout to recoup. Carly Nusbaum and Maddie Phillips continued to read the defense flawlessly and find the gaps. Whereas FGCU tried to smack the fire out of the ball, Lipscomb played to FCGU’s weaknesses and tipped the ball within the gaps, forcing FGCU to scramble. The Bisons quickly took the momentum and refused to let any ball hit the ground. At 22-18, Brittany Thomas did her best to make contact on FGCU’s hard hits but was unsuccessful in controling the ball. Maddie Phillips finished off the Eagles with a hit straight through the middle that deflected off of FGCU’s...
by Lindsey Nance | Nov 19, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb already carried some hardware heading into Friday night’s matchup against No. 5 USC Upstate in the semifinal of the ASUN Conference Tournament in Allen Arena. The Bisons lived up to those expectations once again with a 3-0 sweep of USC Upstate. “A lot of it was just building the culture we wanted,” Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal said. “It is about the program as a whole.” The No. 1-seeded Bisons headed into Friday’s match with a number of recent accolades. Rosenthal was named Coach of the Year for the 3rd time along with multiple accolades for his players. Carlyle Nusbaum took the title of ASUN Player of the Year and unanimous First Team All-Conference selection; Kayla Ostrom received the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year for volleyball and a member of the All-Academic Team, and Taylor Racich, Brittany Thomas, Lauren Anderson, Morgan Elmore and Maddie Phillips received the honor of being Second Team All-ASUN selections. “We have put ourselves in a great position,” Rosenthal said. “If you look at the last five or six weeks, we have worked really hard to really find our identity.” After a grueling 5-set match last night, USC Upstate appeared to be out of gas and out of luck. This ASUN semi-final game was an elimination game, and the Bisons conquered the Spartans easily in three sets. The win allows the Bisons to clinch their fourth straight year in the ASUN championship game. Tonight’s starters, Anderson, Nusbaum, Phillips, Katie Bradley, Morgan Elmore, Chloe Rogers and Brittany Thomas played most of the night and put up scores of 25-19, 25-15 and 25-18. The first set...
by Anna Rogers | Nov 17, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
For decades, Bison basketball has been the most popular sport on Lipscomb’s campus. However, in recent years, attendance at games has dropped, especially students’ attendance. With the way technology has advanced, there are now reasons for students to not attend games, so Lipscomb athletics Director of Marketing Garner Goode believes. “It’s always a challenge to get students to come to games,” Goode said. “It’s a challenge to get anyone to come to games, really. With the world of ESPN and social media, it makes it really easy to stay at home.” Goode and his team are tasked with the challenge of getting people to go games rather than to watch them from home or their dorms. “Some of the main features we try to focus on are items that would get people to games. Goode works to get various sponsors of items from outside Lipscomb to bring new ideas for giveaways, including Pancoast Benefits. This year’s promotional giveaways range from posters and magnets to bobbleheads depicting Lipscomb’s mascot and Lipscomb founder David Lipscomb, to various t-shirts, including one completely in Spanish. “We love working with Pancoast. They always want to push the envelope a little bit further. That’s kind of how we got to the idea of the bobbleheads. And the SGA (Student Government Association) has been great working with us as well. They’re actually sponsoring another bobblehead. “We’ve got some things that is focused on community engagement and ways to plug into the community. We’ve got a shirt this year that is completely in Spanish we’re going to give away on Latino Heritage night that’s coming up on December first.” Lipscomb...
by Eric Ansett | Nov 16, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
George Brammeier and Rob Marberry scored 15 points apiece to lead the Lipscomb men’s basketball team to a 99-70 drubbing of Piedmont on Tuesday in Allen Arena. The Bisons (2-1) successfully pounded the ball inside all night, outscoring the Lions (0-1) 46-20 in the paint. “Getting the ball inside is always a part of our game plan and it needs to be where we start,” coach Casey Alexander said after the win. “Rob and George had a lot of success tonight and anytime they’re scoring effectively that’s gonna be good for the rest of our offense.” Lipscomb used a dynamic attack offensively to gain the victory, with seven players scoring in double figures. Brammeier and Marberry were followed by Freshman guard Michael Buckland and Sophomore Garrison Mathews, who both scored 13 points. Guards Josh Williams and Aaron Korn scored 11 each for Lipscomb, while Freshman guard Kenny Cooper finished with 10 points. The Bisons also shared the ball well, assisting on 29 of their 38 field goals. “29 assists has to be close to a team record and seven guys in double-figures also, so I was really pleased with our offense,” Alexander said. “It shows that we have a lot of versatility and punch offensively.” Sophomore forward Eli Pepper made his first appearance of the season in the contest, playing limited minutes as he returned from an ankle injury. He finished with seven points on three-of-four shooting and corralled a team-leading 10 rebounds in just 14 minutes of action. “We didn’t really have a plan for him, and we knew he wasn’t going to play his normal role,” Alexander...
