Coming into the ASUN tournament with at least one win against every other ASUN opponent, except North Alabama, Lipscomb was projected to go deep into the tournament and even have a chance to win it all and earn a spot in the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. But the inconsistencies that have plagued the Bisons all season long got the best of them in game one of the tournament to end their season early after the 72-60 loss to the Eagles.
Early in the game, it was Lipscomb who had taken control of the matchup, going on a 21-2 run to take a 17 point lead. This effort was headed up by sophomore guard KJ Johnson who finished the afternoon with 18 points.
However, the Eagles would not stay silent for long and went on two runs of their own to cut down on the Bisons lead. Going into the halftime break, Lipscomb led by only four.
Sophomore guard Jake Wolfe would score a basket early in the second half before the Bisons went on a nearly 10 minute scoring drought, which gave FGCU the lead.
Even though the Bisons finally were able to put points on the board in the last quarter of the game, it did nothing to stop the Eagles from staying on their scoring rampage. With just a few minutes to go in the second half, FGCU lead Lipscomb by 23 points with a 70-47 lead.
Lipscomb would go on a 13-2 run to end the game, but by this point it was too little, too late for the Bisons, whose unexpected loss cost them their fourth consecutive ASUN title game appearance.
Sophomore guard Cyrus Largie led the Eagles with 19 points and five rebounds in 39 minutes of action. For Lipscomb, Johnson and junior center Asadullah were the scoring leaders, but perhaps for the Bisons the story was not who scored, but who did not score as the Bisons’ junior guard Greg Jones and senior forward Parker Hazen combined for only two points.
The Bisons will look ahead to next season, and hopefully, they will have a more normal offseason to prepare. Due to the pandemic, all players are granted an extra year of eligibility, but it remains to be seen whether seniors Parker Hazen and Romeao Ferguson will take advantage of this opportunity.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics