by Mckenzi Harris | Feb 18, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
Former Lipscomb University basketball player, Garrison Mathews returns to Allen Arena. Mathews came back to watch his former teammates face off against FGCU on Saturday. Mathews a former Bison, second all-time scorer in ASUN conference, and one of the first players to go to the NBA. His new home is in Washington D.C. where he plays for the Washington Wizards. Announcements were made to the public by social media that Mathews would be in attendance at Saturday’s game. Many fans poured into Allen Arena for the homecoming of Garrison Mathews. People of all ages wearing Washington Wizards jerseys in the room, repping #24 in honor of the Lipscomb graduate. Before the men’s game started, Star Wars t-shirts were passed out along with a Washington Wizards poster with Mathews on it. The line was wrapped around the building with many fans hoping to get one so they could get an autograph. Before tip-off, Lipscomb honored this former Bison by playing a welcome home video which highlighted some of his time at Lipscomb and now as a Wizards player. As soon as the video concluded Mathews was surrounded by children instantly – all of which who were excited and waiting to get an autograph from Mathews himself. Athletic Director Philip Hutchinson, had to quickly move those Junior Bisons into the stands as they were crowding the court. Matthews graciously gave an autograph to each person that came up to him. “It’s always nice coming home to see familiar faces,” said Mathews. “It’s a blessing I can’t thank everyone enough that’s gotten me to where I’m at.” Garrison Mathew’s is a shooting...
by Erika Plunkett | Feb 16, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
The FGCU Eagles continued their conference winning streak, defeating the Lady Bisons 78-45 in Allen Arena Saturday afternoon for their 40th consecutive ASUN victory. With this win, the Eagles also secured at least a share of the ASUN regular-season championship and home-court advantage for the ASUN tournament. Despite the score, Lipscomb led for much of the first half, giving FGCU their first double-digit deficit in conference play this season, when the Lady Bisons were able to take a 17-5 lead with a minute left in the first quarter. Freshman guard Casey Collier stepped up with 12 of Lipscomb’s 29 first-half points. But beginning in the second quarter and continuing into the second half, FGCU flexed their muscles and put together a 45-point turnaround. Leading the Eagles to this masterful comeback performance was Eagles junior forward Tytionia Adderly, who finished the afternoon with 28 points, including seven three-pointers, and eight rebounds in only 28 minutes. For Lipscomb, Collier was the leading scorer with her 14 points, followed closely by junior forward Taylor Clark who put up 11 points. However, noticeably quiet in the scorers’ column for the Lady Bisons was freshman guard Jalyn Holcomb, who has not only led Lipscomb in scoring but is also the leading freshman scorer in the conference. Holcomb scored only six points and was 1-6 from the field, as the Eagles’ experienced upperclassmen domineered on defense. Lipscomb will likely have the chance to redeem themselves against FGCU in the tournament. The Lady Bisons are expected to finish seventh or eighth in the conference, while the Eagles have already clinched one of the top two seeds,...
by Grant Ledgister | Feb 16, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Bisons defeated the FGCU Eagles 64-54 on Thursday night. Also in Allen Arena the Bisons made sure the Star Wars Night tradition continued and Garrison Mathews’ returned to Lipscomb. Tonight was Greg Jones’s night. The sophomore dropped 24 points, a career-high, including four three-pointers. “I’m proud of [Jones],” said Bisons Head Coach Lennie Acuff. “He didn’t get off to a great start, but the boy sure has rallied; he’s stayed the course and is seeing the fruit of it.” Ahsan Asadullah recorded his eleventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Miles Miller also was in double figures for the Bisons with 11 points. “We run offense through Ahsan,” said Acuff. “He’s having an unbelievable year – I think he should be the player of the year in the league.” Lipscomb started the game down 8-2 but scored the game’s next 13 points to take the lead. The Bisons went into halftime ahead 32-21 and never looked back. The key to the Bisons success was the defense. Lipscomb stole the ball 10 times, and Michael Buckland recorded a block. “We guarded well,” Acuff said. “We’ve continued to improve as a defensive team, and that’s important for us.” A poor shooting night for FGCU made matters worse for the team. The Eagles shot 20-53, including 9-26 from the three-point range. This led to several scoring droughts of two or more minutes throughout both halves for the Eagles. FGCU showed life in the second half but was not able to narrow the gap enough before Lipscomb regained control. “They made some really good runs,” said Greg...
by Grant Ledgister | Feb 14, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Bisons clinched a spot in the ASUN Basketball Tournament with a 77-63 dismantling of the NJIT Highlanders Thursday night in Allen Arena. The win and Jacksonville’s loss move Lipscomb into sole possession of fourth place in the ASUN. If the regular season ended today, Lipscomb would host a tournament game. “The goal right now is to win out,” Lipscomb sophomore center Ahsan Asadullah said. “We want to win the rest of the games that we have, so if we can do that, I think we’ll be good for fourth – maybe even third if things go our way.” Lipscomb never left a doubt as to who the better team was. The Bisons jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening minutes of the first half and never surrendered the lead for the rest of the game. “It’s always important to get off to a good start,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said. “They jumped on us at their place and so we wanted to try to get that rectified. I thought our guys were ready to play and locked in so that was a big key to the game.” The Bisons went on several runs throughout the game, including a 12-3 run to give them a 40-25 lead at the end of the first half. However, the Highlanders narrowed the Bisons’ lead to just 45-42 with 13 minutes to play in the second half. From then on, the Bisons were able to outscore the Highlanders 32-21 to lock up the victory. “We knew that after the first half that we had that they were going to...
by Erika Plunkett | Feb 13, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
Coming off of third-place in the ASUN a year ago, the Bisons will return to Dugan Field on Friday for Valentine’s Day opener against Bowling Green State University. But, it’s a new year for Lipscomb. “Last year’s momentum is probably gone. It’s a new team, a new setup, and a new environment,” said Lipscomb coach Jeff Forehand. Since the last time the Bisons stepped onto the diamond, 10 seniors graduated and five more players moved on from Lipscomb, including pitcher Chris Kachmar, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs organization last June. But despite the changes from a season ago, Forehand is optimistic that this team, which he describes as “gritty,” is ready to step up to the challenge. “I think this team is focused. They [ASUN preseason poll] selected us as sixth, which gives us a little momentum to jump into the season and be ready to rock and roll,” said Forehand. Forehand’s confidence stems from the recruiting class and junior college transfers that he and his assistant coaches have brought in. “We just bring new people in. We knew those guys were leaving – some of them had been around for a long time – so we had been preparing for them to leave for a while now. Now it’s other folks time to step up and do their job,” said Forehand. Not only did Forehand bring in 15 players who can bring an immediate impact to the Bisons team, but he also has a network of sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are ready to take over the reins. “It’s just a chance for those new guys...
by Spencer Boehme | Feb 7, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team started conference play rocky this year. But the Bisons have now won two of their last three after an important victory over North Alabama on Thursday night. Lipscomb (9-14, 4-6 ASUN) led 39-29 at halftime, but the Lions (10-13, 5-5 ASUN) made a quick second-half comeback and led by four with 11:20 left in the game. The Bisons came back and either led or tied the rest of the way, but UNA had multiple chances to get a game-tying or game-winning basket in the final seconds due to missed layups and free throws from Lipscomb. “I lost about three years off my life in that last two minutes,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said. “But real happy for our team, and we deserved some good fortune, and we got a little bit tonight.” The game was a return of sorts for Acuff, who had coached many games at Flowers Hall when his former team Alabama-Huntsville would play at UNA. “They’ve done a great job with the building. It’s beautiful — it’s a little different than when I was here. But we always had great games with them, and I think coach [Tony] Pujol has done a great job with their team.” Redshirt sophomore center Ahsan Asadullah continued his dominant streak for Lipscomb, leading the way with 19 points and 14 rebounds. “That’s a pretty good night at the shop,” Acuff said. Freshman guard KJ Johnson has struggled during conference play, but he scored 15, all of which came in the first half. Redshirt senior Andrew Fleming tabbed 13, while sophomore Greg Jones had 10....
