The Lipscomb Bisons men’s basketball team played their only exhibition game of the season on Thursday against Freed Hardeman, defeating the Lions 99-84 in a match-up that served as a preview for the upcoming season.
This was the 99th meeting between the Lipscomb and Freed Hardeman men’s basketball teams. Former NAIA rivals, the Bisons now lead the Lions 76-23 in the series. The Bisons have played the Lions in an exhibition game every year since entering the NCAA (excluding the 2010-2011 season).
Redshirt freshmen center Stephen Hurt led the Bisons in scoring and rebounds with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He also had two assists and was six for seven on free-throws.
Hurt believes that the Bisons were dominant on the offensive side of the ball.
“I thought we played a really good game offensively. We’ve been working on our offense since we started practice. I think it’s working really good.” Hurt said.
Hurt also believes that the team still has plenty of room to grow as the season progresses.
“Defensively, we’ve got a lot to fix, but I think, you know, it’s the first game of the season and we can’t expect too much,” Hurt said. “It will come together as the season goes along.”
Junior center Oscar Garcia scored the first two points of the game and led the team in assists with 4. Senior Deonte Alexander followed Hunt in scoring with 17 points.
Sophomore forwards Malcom and Martin Smith both had 11 points, as did freshmen guard J.C. Hampton, who made three 3-pointers in the game.
Junior guard Khion Sankey had 10 points and two assists. Sankey believes the team made important changes in the second half that helped the Bisons’ efforts.
“In the first half we had a lot of turnovers, but in the second half we started taking care of the ball. We only had three turnovers [in the second half]. That was a good plus.”
As the first installment of the Battle of the Boulevard looms in the distance, Sankey believes that any of tonight’s mistakes can be corrected before the Belmont Bruins come to Allen Arena next Friday.
“We got out-rebounded, but we’re going to get better in practice tomorrow,” Sankey said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do before Belmont, but we can’t wait to play.”
The Bisons officially open their season next Friday, Nov. 9, hosting the Belmont Bruins in the first round of the Battle of the Boulevard.
Photo Credit: Whitney Jarreld