by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 27, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Michael Buckland will play the fourth postseason game of his Lipscomb career Wednesday night when the Bisons take on North Carolina State in the NIT quarterfinals. And, conveniently, that will allow the North Carolina native to play in front of his family and friends yet again. Buckland, who hails from High Point, has family scattered across the state, so each postseason game has offered a slightly different group of people a chance to see him in action. “Every time that we’ve had these games, it’s been in a different place in North Carolina,” he said. “I’ve had friends and family at all of them, but I’ve had different people at every game.” Lipscomb played North Carolina in Charlotte in the 2018 NCAA tournament, and the Bisons played two more postseason games in the Tar Heel State last week when they beat Davidson and UNCG in the first two rounds of the NIT. UNCG is less than 20 miles from High Point, so the Buckland family opened their home to the Bisons last Friday for a night of food, ping-pong, pool and March Madness. The arrangements were made on short notice because Lipscomb did not find out the date and time for the UNCG game until Wednesday afternoon. When Lipscomb Director of Basketball Operations Adam Notteboom asked Buckland for restaurant recommendations, the Lipscomb junior offered his house as an option. Big THANK YOU to the @MBuckland23 family for hosting us tonight. #OurTeam #HornsUp pic.twitter.com/SRdXb9giaB — LipscombMBB (@LipscombMBB) March 23, 2019 “I was like, ‘I’m not sure how my family feels about this, but they’d probably be [happy] to have us...
by Tyler Harvey | Mar 27, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb baseball team fell to No. 6 Vanderbilt 15-1 on Tuesday night in the annual neutral-site meeting between the two teams. The game was held at First Tennessee Park in Nashville, which is currently home to local professional sports teams (the Nashville Sounds and Nashville SC). The first two innings of the game stayed quiet, while both starting pitchers got off to stellar starts. Lipscomb freshman pitcher Scott Elgin started off by getting out seven of the first eight batters he faced. However, in the bottom of the third inning Elgin seemed to lose control of his pitches; he walked the first two batters he faced in the inning before getting the next two batters out. Elgin was then one out away from getting out of the third inning, but a 2-2 pitch to Vanderbilt right fielder JJ Bleday was rocketed over the seats in right center field to put the Commodores on the board first 3-0. Elgin then gave up a walk after the home run, which prompted the Bisons to make their first pitching change of the game. The Commodores’ starting pitcher Mason Hickman was also able to get off to an amazing start as well; however, his hot start continued for his entire day unlike Elgin’s. Hickman only allowed one baserunner through his first five innings. Going into the sixth inning Hickman had a no-hitter on the line, but a hard hit two-out ground ball by Lipscomb catcher Chaz Bertolani forced Vanderbilt’s shortstop and third baseman to run into each other, giving the Bisons their first hit of the day. Hickman was able to get...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 25, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team is heading back to North Carolina for the third time in the NIT. North Carolina State beat Harvard 78-77 Sunday night to advance to the tournament quarterfinals. The Wolfpack will host the Bisons on Wednesday, March 27 in Reynolds Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The winner of Wednesday’s battle will advance to the NIT Final Four, which will be played in New York City’s Madison Square Garden on April 2 and 4. Lipscomb (27-7) returned to Nashville Saturday night after handing UNCG an 86-69 defeat in Greensboro Coliseum. The Bisons also took down Davidson 89-81 in the first round last Tuesday. The team traveled to and from North Carolina on charter flights for both games. Before escaping with a one-point win over the Crimson in the second round, NC State opened the NIT with an 84-78 victory over Hofstra on March 19. The Wolfpack (24-11) narrowly missed the NCAA tournament despite finishing No. 32 in the NET rankings. The NCAA selection committee cited NC State’s 3-9 Quadrant 1 record as the main reason it was left out. NC State is led in scoring by three experienced guards, including senior Torin Dorn (13.5 PPG), junior Markell Johnson (12.4 PPG) and redshirt junior CJ Bryce (11.5 PPG). Tickets are $15 and can be requested by clicking HERE. Reynolds Coliseum seats just 5,600 fans, so tickets are expected to go quickly. The NC State-Harvard game was sold out Sunday...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 23, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
GREENSBORO, N.C – Road games simply don’t bother the Lipscomb men’s basketball team. In front of a mostly-hostile Greensboro Coliseum crowd, the Bisons delivered a dominant performance in an 86-69 blowout of UNCG Saturday in the NIT. The Bisons will play the winner of NC State-Harvard on Wednesday, March 27 in the tournament quarterfinals. Lipscomb continued to add to its NCAA Division I-era road win record with its 13th of the season. The Bisons had 10 road wins last season, but they eclipsed that mark with an 87-75 victory over North Alabama on March 1. “I don’t know what it is,” Lipscomb senior Garrison Mathews said of playing on the road. “It’s a good feeling that we can come [play] in front of the great crowd that [UNCG] had and play well.” Mathews and fellow senior Rob Marberry were at their best against the Spartans. Marberry led the way with 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting, while Mathews produced a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Spartans jumped out to an early lead behind the hot hands of senior Francis Alonso and junior Isaiah Miller. But Lipscomb made 10 of its final 11 shots in the first half to take a 43-35 advantage into the break. After Mathews made a three with 1:38 remaining in the first, the Bisons never relinquished their lead. Much of that run was thanks to crisp passing – including a long runner from Marberry to Nathan Moran to end the half with a layup and a 10-2 run. Lipscomb finished with 20 assists to UNCG’s seven. “Any time that we can get a bunch...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 20, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team will appear on national television again this weekend. The Bisons are set to take on UNC Greensboro Saturday at 1 p.m. CT in the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The second round NIT game will air on ESPN, and it can also be heard live on Lumination Radio. Lipscomb defeated Davidson 89-81 Tuesday evening at John M. Belk Arena to advance to the Round of 16. It was the school’s first-ever postseason win in its NCAA Division I era. Junior Michael Buckland led the Bisons with 19 points. The team traveled back to Nashville on a charter flight Wednesday morning. The Bisons are expected to return to North Carolina on Friday. UNCG was the first team left out of the NCAA tournament. The Spartans dispatched Campbell 84-69 in their first round NIT game Tuesday. Senior guard Francis Alonso hit six three-pointers and scored 22 points. Saturday’s game will be the second time Lipscomb has played in front of a national audience this season. The ASUN championship game aired on ESPN March 10. Tickets for Saturday’s game will go on sale Thursday at 11 a.m. CT. All tickets are general admission and cost $12, although children under two will be admitted for...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 20, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Any thought that the Lipscomb men’s basketball team wouldn’t be interested in the NIT was dispelled Tuesday night at John M. Belk Arena. Despite trailing for 27 of the 40 minutes, Lipscomb pulled off a late comeback for an 89-81 victory over Davidson in the first round of the NIT. The Bisons will travel to UNCG for the second round at a to-be-determined date and time. “We have a lot of old, experienced guys, and it hasn’t shown necessarily in the previous games,” Lipscomb junior guard Michael Buckland said. “You could tell that a lot of us didn’t want that game to not finish in our favor. So yeah, just a lot of resolve from our guys – a lot of experience showed tonight.” Senior forward Eli Pepper hit a dagger three in the corner with 34 seconds left, but it was Buckland who stole the show in the final minutes. Buckland, a native of nearby High Point, North Carolina, swished a three with 5:12 remaining to give Lipscomb a 74-71 lead, which the Bisons never relinquished. He followed that with eight more points down the stretch to finish with a team-high 19 points, including four makes from long range. “[Buckland] shot it great and made timely baskets,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “He doesn’t get any notoriety for what he does defensively. But [Davidson’s] two guards are as good as any we’ve played all season long. And he guarded those guys all night.” Davidson recruited Buckland during his time at Wesleyan Christian Academy, but the Wildcats never extended an offer. In front of plenty of family...
