Lipscomb men’s basketball defeated Cumberland 83-53 in Allen Arena Thursday night.
It was a game of runs for the Bisons as they went on a 16-0 run in the first half starting just five minutes into the game, bringing the Bisons lead to 27-16.
Cumberland slowly started to chip away at the lead before Lipscomb went on another big run, outscoring Cumberland 12-0 in the span of two minutes.
“We don’t want to live and die by the run, but it’s always nice when it goes in our favor,” head coach Casey Alexander said. “Our defense played great, and got four blocks, and that was a big part of us going on those runs.”
During a timeout in the first half, a video package of John Pierce played. Pierce was a Lipscomb basketball legend who broke the record for most points in a collegiate career. He broke the record against Cumberland 22 years ago.
The Bisons and Bulldogs have a deep history, as they played each other 52 times when Lipscomb was in the NAIA. The two teams last met 14 years ago when Lipscomb was making the transition to NCAA Division I.
“It was great to play this team again,” junior guard J.C. Hampton said. “There’s a lot of history between our two programs and I was excited to get to add to that history today.”
Lipscomb shot a season high 48.4 percent from behind the three point line, making 15 threes.
“We shot great today from behind the arc, but we need to develop our game,” Alexander said. “We can’t just be a three point team because that’s not going to work every day.
“I think what I’m most happy about is that we kept fighting even when we were up there at the end.”
The Bisons will play at home Saturday against Princeton at 4 p.m. at Allen Arena.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics