by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 4, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
‘Undersized’ might seem like an odd label for a man that stands 6-foot-7. But because Lipscomb’s Rob Marberry plays the center position, that’s exactly how everyone describes him. “He definitely doesn’t pass the eye test,” senior Eli Pepper said of his teammate. “We tell him that all the time. He doesn’t look like a Division I [center].” A quick glance at Marberry’s stat line shows otherwise. The Nashville native is the team’s second-leading scorer with 15.5 points per game, and he pulls down 4.5 rebounds per contest. “Physically he’s not a five, but that’s what he is in our offense,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “He’s got such great skills and the ability to finish with both hands. He’s undersized for a post player, but the ball goes in.” Marberry often outplays opponents that have a height advantage by two or three inches. Take Belmont’s Nick Muszynski as an example. The Bruin freshman stands at 6-foot-10, yet Marberry managed to score 26 points and grab eight rebounds in a 76-74 loss to Belmont on Dec. 4. “Rob Marberry is a really, really good player, and he’s got experience,” Belmont coach Rick Byrd said after the game. “When they needed baskets, they went to him every single time down the floor.” .@robmarberry0 TIES IT UP AT 74-74! The big man is now up to 26 points! #nailbitter #HornsUp pic.twitter.com/vOPxy15RhA — LipscombMBB (@LipscombMBB) December 5, 2018 Similar scenarios played out against SMU, TCU and Clemson, but Marberry was up to the task each time. He scored double figures in 33 straight games before being held to eight points by Florida Gulf...
by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 3, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb men’s basketball hasn’t been overly welcoming to the ASUN’s two new members. The Bisons dispatched Liberty on Tuesday and then did the same with North Alabama on Saturday. Behind six double-figure scorers, Lipscomb cruised to a 102-80 victory over the Lions at Allen Arena. The Bisons improved to 9-0 in ASUN play (18-4 overall) to match their longest win streak since 2008-09. Their last loss was an 84-67 defeat at Clemson on Dec. 30. “Glory goes to God, we’ve been playing well,” Lipscomb junior Andrew Fleming said. “I can’t ask for much more out of these guys, they’re playing hard.” Senior guard Garrison Mathews led the way with 19 points, while Kenny Cooper had 16 points and six assists. “[Cooper was] the biggest reason why we were so good early,” Alexander said. “He was involved and scored it on his own a couple of times. We’re a much better team when he’s making things happen.” Fleming (15), Ahsan Asadullah (13), Rob Marberry (11) and Nathan Moran (11) also finished in double digits to push Lipscomb to its third 100-point performance of the season. “The versatility for us on offense is important,” Alexander said. “We have a lot of guys that can pass, move and play off each other.” Fleming’s 15 points set a new career high. The Iowa and Chattanooga transfer played at the prestigious Oak Hill Academy during his final year of high school and seems to be finding his groove with the Bisons. He has 31 points in his last three games after missing time in early January with an ankle injury. “The biggest thing I’ve...
by Erika Plunkett | Feb 3, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Injuries continued to plague the Lipscomb women’s basketball team in an 81-60 loss to the second-best team in the ASUN as part of a doubleheader against North Alabama. Sophomore guard Taylor Clark, who currently leads the team in scoring, was ruled out Friday with an undisclosed injury. On the flipside, junior guard Lauren Rau returned to the starting lineup after sitting out on Tuesday. Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said her “intensity” made an immediate impact in a strong first half for the Lady Bisons. The Lions’ (16-2, 7-1 ASUN) sophomore forward Brittany Panetti came into Saturday’s matchup boasting the highest points-per-game mark in the conference, but two early fouls put her on the bench and gave the Lady Bisons (2-19, 0-8 ASUN) early success. Despite UNA junior guard Emma Wallen’s 17 first-quarter points, including five three-pointers, Lipscomb was down by only six at the end of the first quarter. Entering the second quarter, the Lady Bisons went on a 10-1 run led by freshman guard Keely Morrow, who would finish as the Lady Bisons’ leading scorer with 11 points. Part of the second quarter success was fueled by Lipscomb’s points off turnovers, generating its first lead going into halftime since December. But coming back from halftime, the Lions finally got into rhythm, led by Panetti’s return to the game. The second quarter script was flipped, and it was the Lions who went on a scoring run. Wallen also made an impact after scoring zero points in the second quarter with her three-point shooting. She finished the day with a career-high 30 points and was 8-of-13 from behind the arc....
by Adrienne Luu | Feb 2, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The match took four and a half hours to finish, but the Lipscomb men’s tennis team left with a 4-3 victory over Furman University on Friday night. The Bisons (2-2) started the night off against the Paladins with a lead by winning the doubles point. On the third line, Lipscomb’s Francesco Tacconi and George Wong played Furman’s Ivan Mitric and James Roelfose and lost the match 6-1. Bisons pair Jorge Ortegon and Pedro Uribe then won their set 6-3 against Drew Singerman and Clarke Wilson, leaving it up to Lipscomb’s duo in line one to get the doubles point. As Lipscomb’s Victor Chaw and Pablo Caffarena fought out their battle with Jake Munns and Jake Bhangdia, the two teams stood watch while waiting to see who would clinch the point. After a long battle, Chaw and Caffarena managed to win the set 6-4 and got Lipscomb’s first point of the night, putting them in the lead. “I think the doubles was more of an example of being greedy rather than us playing well,” Lipscomb coach Geoff Hernandez said. “It wasn’t our best, but we performed mentally, and that’s the thing we talked about all week. Even though it wasn’t our best, they still pulled out the win.” The win from the doubles point gave the Bisons more energy and motivation to transfer their heat to singles play and try to win the night’s match with just three more points. In the No. 2 spot, Caffarena was the first to finish the job, bringing the Bisons up 2-0. Playing against the Paladins’ Clarke Wilson, Caffarena won both of his sets...
by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 2, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Mid-major teams generally have one option for making the Big Dance: winning a conference tournament title. On rare occasions, a few mid-major squads piece together such solid resumes that the Selection Committee cannot ignore them. Gonzaga (19-2), Nevada (19-1) and Buffalo (18-2) appear to fit that mold this season. But what about Lipscomb? The Bisons have caught the eyes of the college basketball world with victories over TCU, SMU, Vermont and Liberty, along with close losses to Louisville and Belmont (x2). Do they stand any chance to get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament? The answer: probably not. However, it isn’t completely out of the question. Lipscomb touts an impressive 17-4 overall record, and the Bisons are a perfect 8-0 in ASUN play. They’re also 2-3 against Quadrant 1 opponents and 2-1 against Quadrant 2 opponents. Heading into Saturday’s contest against North Alabama, Lipscomb sits at No. 36 in the NET rankings and the KenPom ratings. The Bisons can hang their hat on a marquee victory at TCU on Nov. 20. But the biggest factor working in Lipscomb’s favor is that it does not have any bad losses. The ASUN’s first-place team is 11-0 against Quadrant 3 and 4 opponents, and their worst loss came at home to Belmont (a top-70 team) on Nov. 15. All that to say, Lipscomb is best off taking care of business and winning its conference tournament on March 10. However, they might be able to survive a hiccup in the ASUN tournament if they do the following: 1. Win their final eight regular season games The Bisons are going to be favored in...
by Charissa Ricker | Jan 30, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb women’s basketball took on the Liberty Flames Tuesday night in Allen Arena and saw its losing streak extend to 17 games in a 77-60 defeat to the ASUN newcomer. The Lady Bisons (2-18, 0-7 ASUN) won the tip-off and slowly found their rhythm after Taylor Clark scored the first points for Lipscomb. Jane Deason then quickly followed with a three-pointer to put the Lady Bisons ahead. The team hit a streak of three-point shots in the first half with the first four shots all coming from beyond the arc. The Lady Bisons ended the first quarter with a 17-10 lead thanks to another three-pointer from Deason. “They’ve worked hard opening up shots on their own and then just shooting it with confidence and they did,” Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said. “We did a good job of making the extra pass and finding that [girl] that was open inside.” Lipscomb held a steady ten-point lead in the beginning of the second quarter, however, Liberty closed the gap midway through the second quarter. After Liberty (8-12, 4-3 ASUN) took the lead, Clark shot a buzzer-beating layup to cut their advantage to 39-37 at halftime. “We knew they were physical,” Brown said. “We knew they like to play inside and attack like that. We knew we should be able to have chances to reverse the ball and get open looks, which we did. So I mean it played out a lot preparation-wise – everyone was prepared for that and handled that part of it.” Lipscomb started the second half on a rough note, and they did not make a basket until hitting a...
