by Spencer Boehme | Apr 23, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Lipscomb announced Monday that Rhodes College head coach Lauren Sumski has been hired as the new women’s basketball coach. Lady Bisons fans were formally introduced to the former D-III coach at a welcoming conference Tuesday afternoon in the Hall of Fame room. “There were many candidates that we had,” Lipscomb athletic director Philip Hutcheson said. “High school, college, all levels, people from all over the country who were interested in the job. And I think that’s a credit to the Lipscomb community.” The biggest takeaway from Sumski’s introduction is how noticeably enthusiastic and energetic she was from the get-go. “I’d be remiss to not thank Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, for allowing me to be here,” Sumski said. “I’d be remiss to not thank President Lowry and Hutch, as they affectionately call him.” During what was a brutal 2018-19 season, the Lady Bisons began the year with a 2-1 record. They followed that with 19 straight losses before scraping a couple conference wins to finish the year 4-25. “This is just a reset,” Sumski said. “This isn’t a rebuild. We’re going to take every single day, and we’re going to work to be the best people we can be, the best students we can be, the best athletes we can be.” So how much of this “reset” will affect the current coaching staff? “I’m speaking with [Lipscomb assistant] Hannah Phillips,” Sumski said. “I love her. I just wanna make sure that we gel, and we click. And then outside of that, we’re just kind of taking it day-by-day. I’ve met with Kelsey [Gregory], who’s also been here.”...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 11, 2019 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports
The stage was set for the ASUN men’s basketball championship game on Sunday afternoon. After a stormy Saturday, the sun came out and fans began filling Allen Arena to watch the No. 1 Lipscomb Bisons (25-7) take on the No. 2 Liberty Flames (28-6). And then Lipscomb lost a heart-wrenching, back-and-forth contest, 74-68. “It was an unbelievable day,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “And I’m proud of our team for being in a position to host this game, and I love the Lipscomb people who showed up and made it a great day for us.” 5,607 fans showed up to the sellout game, setting a new Allen Arena record. It was difficult to find an empty seat, and the raucous crowd made itself seen and heard. Instead, Sunday’s game featured towel-waving fans in a nationally televised game that lived up to its expectations. “I think the ASUN won tonight,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said. “That crowd was terrific. That was a great atmosphere.” The big question is: can Lipscomb continue to fill its arena? First, we have to acknowledge the fact that Sunday’s game was special and doesn’t happen every day. That makes my answer an immediate ‘no.’ Second is the fact that Lipscomb lost on Sunday. That’s not to diminish the novelty of Sunday, especially when you look at the Bisons’ recent attendance boosts. Starters Kenny Cooper and Michael Buckland will be seniors next season. Redshirt freshman Ahsan Asadullah played some solid basketball on Sunday with eight points, nine rebounds and two steals. The fans loved watching him. Overall, there are a lot of bench players who...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 10, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The scenarios for Sunday’s ASUN championship game are simple: winner goes to the NCAA tournament, loser goes to the NIT. It’s the rubber match for No. 1 Lipscomb and No. 2 Liberty, and this time, the teams will battle on a national stage. The game will be televised by ESPN, and a sellout crowd is expected in Allen Arena. “I would almost say it’ll be a similar feeling to when we went to March Madness last year, but it’ll be on our home floor,” Lipscomb senior Garrison Mathews said. “It’s going to be crazy to play in front of that many fans that are going for [us].” Lipscomb (25-6) knocked off Kennesaw State and NJIT to reach its second-straight title game. The Bisons beat Florida Gulf Coast 108-96 to advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. Meanwhile, Liberty (27-6) beat Jacksonville and North Florida to earn a trip to Nashville and a chance for a title in its first season as a member of the ASUN. On Jan. 29, Lipscomb crushed Liberty on its home-court, 77-55. The Flames then returned the favor by handing the Bisons a 74-66 loss two weeks later. The two teams play different styles, but something must give this time. “The styles were what was so different,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “The first game better reflected how we like to play, the second one better reflected how they like to play. It’s not always that simple, but that will go a long way toward who wins this game.” BREAKING DOWN THE FLAMES: Liberty had a clear path to the...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 5, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The odds were in favor of the Lipscomb men’s basketball team during Monday night’s ASUN quarterfinal matchup against Kennesaw State. Not only were the Owls without head coach Al Skinner, who recently resigned, but leading scorer Tyler Hooker (19 points per game) also missed the contest after taking an elbow to the face last week. Despite 25 points from Danny Lewis and 18 more from Bobby Parker, the No. 1 Bisons were able to fend off the pesky No. 8 Owls for an 86-71 victory at Allen Arena. The win propelled Lipscomb (24-6) to the ASUN semifinals, where it will host No. 5 NJIT on Thursday at 7 p.m. Lipscomb guard Kenny Cooper registered a rare triple-double by scoring 15 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists. It was just the second triple-double in the program’s NCAA Division I era — the first came when Josh Slater had 10 points, 12 assists and 10 steals on Feb. 17, 2011 against USC Upstate. “I’m really proud of Kenny,” Alexander said. “Our team’s a lot better when he’s aggressive and making plays. He had seven assists at halftime, which is the most impressive part of it to me. That shows that he’s engaged, pushing the tempo and making plays for himself and others.” ASUN Player of the Year and Lipscomb senior Garrison Mathews dropped 26 points and nailed five three-pointers. Fellow senior teammate Rob Marberry finished 8-of-9 from the field in a 16-point effort. “It’s tough to beat us when Rob plays great inside and goes 8-for-9,” Mathews said. “You can go down the list…Eli [Pepper], [Michael] Buckland, Ahsan...
by Cavin Jacobson | Feb 19, 2019 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
A power outage is affecting multiple buildings across campus today. The power has been out since at least 6:24 a.m. when the first alert email was sent out to students. The Lipscomb University Campus Service Operations team is still currently working to resolve the issue. Classes held in Beaman Library, Burton Health Sciences Center, Collins Auditorium, Swang Center, Ezell Center and the Student Activities Center are canceled until noon. The Gathering has been canceled and will not meet today. Update — At around 12:53 p.m., Lipscomb sent a campus-wide email stating that “afternoon classes will resume as scheduled with the 1:20 p.m. class sessions.” With the exception of Allen Arena, Dugan Field, the Student Activities Center (SAC) and McQuiddy, most of the buildings have power now. SAC classes “will follow the Class Schedule Disruption Policy.” Update at 11 a.m. — A campus service operations member said a 13,800 volt splice went out. It was approximately 15 years old, so possibly due to its age, it died and consequently took out the rest of the line. “It’s an old splice,” he said. “Probably a 13,800 volt one that went out. We’ll get the power up soon.” Additionally, an email was sent out to the Lipscomb campus announcing that power was expected to come back on in the early afternoon. A splice allows multiple wires to carry a current, and since this one died, the power went out. They are currently rewiring so that they can remove the old splice and put in a new one. The affected academic buildings are Beaman Library, Collins Auditorium, Ezell Center, Swang Center and Burton...
