by Hunter Patterson | Feb 29, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
Bison basketball players Damarius Smith and Marvin Williams have been suspended from the team and are not present at Wednesday’s Atlantic Sun tournament game versus Mercer. Lumination alluded to the possibility of this on Monday when the two were not at the team’s practice. As of Wednesday night at 7 p.m., Smith and Williams are no longer members of the Bison basketball team. In an official announcement from the athletic department, the two players have been “suspended” from the team permanently. “Damarius Smith and Marvin Williams have been suspended indefinitely and will not participate in postseason play. They are not traveling with the team,” the statement reported. On Monday, Lipscomb head coach Scott Sanderson said that it was mainly a “disciplinary issue” with Smith. Sanderson did not elaborate on Williams’ status at the time but said he had missed the last four games because he has been “banged up” with a knee injury. Saturday was not the first time Smith had been held out of playing. Earlier this season against Belmont, Smith dressed and warmed up with the team but did not enter the game. “It was just a discipline issue,” Sanderson said of Smith’s status in the Belmont game. “We handled it internally, and we moved forward.” “We’re just trying to learn and do what’s right,” he said. “Sometimes being young is difficult, and we are just trying to learn from day to day and do the right thing.” However, with the suspension of the players, it seems the team, as well as Smith and Williams, had reached their breaking point. This makes for eight players that have either...
by Hunter Patterson | Oct 23, 2011 | Sports
Ever since Lipscomb and Belmont played their first basketball game in 1953, they’ve been rivals. With the two schools being on the same street just a couple miles away, it was practically inevitable. However, looking back over the history of Lipscomb athletics, you’ll find more than just Lipscomb-Belmont. They were instead, other schools in town. “In the 1950s, East Tennessee State was a huge rival for David Lipscomb College,” said Andy Lane, associate athletic director. In those games, the team would actually get on a train and head to east Tennessee to play. Now, both teams are in the Atlantic Sun, so the fire is still there, but Lane says it was a lot different then. What most students don’t know is that the Trevecca Nazarene game was that game to be at. Known as the “Bleacher Creatures” during the ’80s, Lipscomb fans would pack both McQuiddy and Trevecca’s Trojan Field House so much that actions had to be taken to prevent from breaking any laws. “In McQuiddy, the fans were right on top of you,” Lady Bisons head coach Frank Bennett says. “Those games were as intense as any we have ever had,” Lane says. Communications professor Jimmy McCollum recalls one game where the fire marshal forced Lipscomb to shut the doors on the gym because it had reached maximum capacity. “We had what I believe was a perfect storm for rivalries,” McCollum said. “We had a small gym, we had an excellent team consistently ranked in the top 5 or 10 across the nation in the NAIA and we had not only one but two local rivals...
by Hunter Patterson | Oct 4, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
It was officially announced today that the court inside Allen Arena would be named after legendary coach Don Meyer. Coach Meyer, a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame and ESPY award winner, coached at Lipscomb from 1975-1999. He is also the winningest men’s coach in NCAA basketball history. Please upgrade your browser Since his retirment from the game in 2010, Coach Meyer has been traveling doing coaching clinics, seminars and promoting his book, “How Lucky You Can Be,” written with ESPN analyst Buster Olney. The court will be named on Saturday Dec. 3 when the Bisons play host to Kennesaw State. We’ll have more on this developing story,...
by Hunter Patterson | Sep 7, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb’s athletic director, Phillip Hutcheson, announced this morning on 102.5 The Game that all of Lipscomb’s basketball games will be broadcasted this year on the station. “We’ve been looking for a partner for a while now,” Hutcheson said. “Two-thirds of Lipscomb alumni live within this listening area.” Formerly known as 1025 The Party, The Game is now the flagship station for the Nashville Predators and ESPN radio. “Ten of our thirteen guys are from the listening area,” Hutcheson said. “We’re thrilled to be on the air.” Long time play-by-play man Jonathon Seamon will be calling the games, just like always. He’ll have a new color guy, though, since his son, Benjamin, just graduated. Lipscomb is partnering the Jackson Family of companies that will be the presenting sponsor. We’ll have more, later....
by Hunter Patterson | Jan 20, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
Miguel DaSilva, a former forward for the Lipscomb Bisons soccer team received three offers to go overseas and play professionally. That is not the story though. The story is where DaSilva chose to go play. DaSilva received offers from Finland, Portugal and his home country Angola. That last offer made his decision a lot easier. He signed with Santos FC of Angola in December and is expected to begin play with the club this month. Miguel first arrived in the states in 2001, just a day before the attacks of 9/11. Since arriving that day, he has not returned back to what he used to call home. “I always knew inside of me that I wanted to go back home once I graduated college,” said DaSilva, who earned his degree in international business last month. “When the deal was offered to me back home, (you) couldn’t imagine how excited I was. My family is there, friends, people that I miss daily and I haven’t seen them for about 10 years. I think that’s the place God wanted me to go.” Although he fought with injuries during his time at Lipscomb, DaSilva still posted 32 goals and 28 assists over four seasons. He tied for the team lead with eight goals last season, became the first Lipscomb player to earn all-region honors, and has prompted his coaches to call him the best player in Lipscomb’s history. Now it’s time to return to where life began, time to reconnect with family he hasn’t seen in a decade. “My mother never really saw me play when I grew up, so that’s one...
