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...
by KJ Lauck | Feb 16, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Lady Bisons (5-21, 2-9) lost to the Jacksonville Dolphins (16-10, 8-3) 76-55, on Monday night in Allen Arena. Senior Chandler Cooper gave the Lady Bisons a quick three-pointer at the beginning of the game. However, the Dolphins took control on the interior and earned a 21-12 lead in the first quarter. The Bisons were down by nine in the second quarter and the Dolphins increased their lead to 10 points at halftime, 38-28. “We gotta work on the rhythm of our offense,” head coach Greg Brown said. The lead increased to 18 points in the third quarter. The Dolphins were led by Jasmyn Brown and Christin Mercer, who finished with 14 and 19 points, respectively. The duo also pulled down a combined 13 rebounds. By the start of the fourth quarter the Dolphins lead was 19 points and the score sat at 61-42. The rebounding differential was 33-19 and resulted in a 40-20 scoring advantage in the paint. “It’s a mentality; there’s not enough reps to go through, so we’ve just got to commit and have the mentality to pursue the ball,” head coach Greg Brown said. “There’s some you’re not going to get, but you have to go every time.” The Bisons were unable to make a run in the fourth quarter as Jacksonville stymied the Lipscomb offense. “They disrupted the rhythm by taking ‘Lo’ [Loren Cagle] out a little bit,” Brown said. “We just gotta work on the simple things as far as execution and movement offensively.” The Lipscomb offense was held to 34% shooting from the field and just 4-11 from three. “They’re solid, they’re athletic, and they’re strong,” Brown...
by KJ Lauck | Feb 14, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Both Lipscomb men’s and women’s basketball teams defeated North Florida on Saturday afternoon in Allen Arena. The Lady Bisons (5-20, 2-8) won their second consecutive A-Sun game 78-71. Senior Ashley Southern led Lipscomb in scoring 17 points and nine rebounds. Six other Bisons scored in double-figures in a balanced scoring attack. Sophomore Loren Cagle approached scored 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Senior Chandler Cooper and sophomore Amber Fuqua each scored 12 points. “It’s great to see stuff she [Fuqua] does in practice carry out in the game, and that’s what you want,” head coach Greg Brown said. The team hit 12 threes and had 23 assists on 28 baskets. “The biggest thing it showed was how each individual player has improved while [Southern] was out,” Brown said. “You have to be thankful for the adversity and then learn from the adversity and grow from it, and I certainly think we have.” The Lady Bisons are now in seventh place in the A-Sun conference and just a game behind North Florida (6-19, 2-8) for the sixth seed in the A-Sun tournament. The Lady Bisons will play again Monday night in Allen Arena against Jacksonville. The men’s basketball team has now won six of eight Atlantic-Sun games after starting 0-3 in conference play, defeating the North Florida Ospreys, 94-87, in the second leg of the double-header. Four Bisons scored in double-figures. Sophomore Nathan Moran and freshman Garrison Mathews led the way for Bisons with 24 and 23 points, respectively. Mathews and sophomore George Brammeier both notched double-doubles. The Bisons were down by as many as 13 and 10 at the half. However, head coach...
by Danielle Kinnen | Feb 12, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team returned home Thursday evening, winning 93-92 against Atlantic Sun Conference co-leader Jacksonville. “Resiliency was one of the words that the team gave us,” head coach Casey Alexander said. “They believe in that part of who they are and it showed tonight.” The Bisons (8-18, 5-5 A-Sun) were led by freshman Eli Pepper, junior J.C. Hampton and freshman Garrison Mathews led the Bisons with 15-plus points each. “The most impressive part of the game to me was how Garrison went in and kept balls alive on the offensive glass,” Alexander said. “His seven offensive rebounds were huge emotional plays.” Lipscomb started off their bid against the Dolphins with a three-pointer from Hampton who is Lipscomb’s leading scorer, averaging 17.4 points per game. Although the game started with a fast pace, both teams lost momentum in the middle of the first half, scoring a small total of 30-24 points after 15 minutes into the game. The Bisons were able to turn things around after trailing 10 points behind the Dolphins, picking up the energy in Allen Arena and doubling their 24 points in less than five minutes. After a quick steal and turn over, Jacksonville picked up a three-point lead as the teams entered the intermission where they lead the Purple and Gold’s 43-40. Lipscomb led in turnovers against the Florida based team which allowed Hampton and sophomore Nathan Moran to pull off a number of game-changing three-pointers. As the game fell into the last eight minutes, the intensity rose dramatically as Pepper and Mathews took control with dunks and three-pointers. “This win should give us some confidence...
by Charlie Bateman | Feb 11, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons defeated NJIT 63-49 Wednesday night in Allen Arena, ending a 17-game losing streak with the return of senior Ashley Southern after an injury. “I think it was good for our team that they worked so hard and have done all the little things to make this win possible,” head basketball coach Greg Brown said. “They have shown so much improvement individually, it just hasn’t manifested itself to wins. It is great for our team to be rewarded for their hard work.” Lipscomb out-rebounded NJIT 40-30 and forced 15 turnovers. “We did a great job staying in front of the ball,” Brown said. “I think we did a great job rebounding the ball. It was a huge key for us in the game. It was also important that we scored 22 points off of turnovers.” Southern led the Bisons with 18 points and nine rebounds. “I think she was able to stay in the game mentally during rehab,” Brown said. “She was able to get a little work in last week. Being a senior she was able to play with a sense of urgency.” Lipscomb’s bench outscored NJIT 26-14. One of the big contributions from the bench other than Southern came from sophomore Riley Northway with eight points. Lipscomb will take on North Florida on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in Allen Arena. “I will be looking for consistency from our team when we take on North Florida,” Brown said. “So far we have done that throughout the year. We will look to continue to develop and get more used to having Ashley Southern back. We also need to keep...
by Todd Lamberth | Feb 2, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) will bring the Nashville Tennis Classic to Allen Arena this Saturday, where a special tennis court will be placed on the basketball floor. John Isner and Sam Querrey will kick off the event at 3 p.m. with a singles match. Isner is currently ranked No. 12 in the world while Querrey has reached No. 17 during his career. Following that match, Isner and Querrey will team up to face the Bryan brothers for a doubles match. Mike and Bob Bryan are the most decorated doubles team in the world with a record sixteen Grand Slam titles. The event comes to Nashville as United States tennis prepares for the Summer Olympics in Rio and the Davis Cup, the top team tournament for men’s international tennis. “USTA Tennessee is thrilled to support the Nashville Tennis Classic and honored to host members of the U.S. Davis Cup Team in our city,” said Tracy Davies, Executive Director of USTA Tennessee. “Nashville is a vibrant tennis community and bringing role models of this caliber to Tennessee will have a tremendous impact on the future growth of our sport.” With the U.S. tennis players coming into Nashville, Lipscomb men’s tennis will be leaving the city. The Bisons travel to play Georgia State and Alabama over the weekend. While they won’t be on campus, head coach Mario Hernandez said he is excited to have the event at Lipscomb. Hernandez said he hopes the event will help grow the sport and its popularity in the area and the school. “Having the best doubles team ever and the top American pro tennis players on...
