The Casey Alexander era of men’s basketball offered a sampling of what’s to come in Allen Area Thursday night as the Bisons posted up a 95-83 exhibition win over the visiting Freed-Hardeman Lions.
The Bisons and Lions’ pre-season match-up truly defined the phrase “back-and-forth,” as most of the game was a power struggle to see who could hold on to their low-margin lead.
For most of the first half, Freed Hardeman had a small leg up on the Bisons, but Lipscomb managed to use the final minutes effectively to enter halftime with a 50-45 lead over the Lions.
The second half quickly began to mirror the first, and it wasn’t until junior Martin Smith got hot from the arch (sinking four 3-pointers) that the Bisons truly began to run away with the game.
Martin Smith led the Bisons in scoring with 23, while redshirt freshman J.C. Hampton had 20.
Sophomore J.J. Butler led the team in assists with 7, while junior Malcom Smith topped rebounds with 7. He also had 14 points on the night.
Hampton expressed his enthusiasm in the team returning to the court for the season.
“It just felt good being back out with the team, playing hard,” Hampton said.
He credited the team’s defensive play for helping lift the team in the second half.
Next week presents a new challenge for the Bisons as the annual Battle of the Boulevard makes it way to Lipscomb’s campus to open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 8.
Hampton says that the team will need to continue to focus on defense as the Bruins await.
Check below for a full recap of tonight’s game via live-blog.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics.