by Cory Woodroof | Nov 21, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
By Logan Butts and Aaron Schmelzer In round two of the 2013 Battle of the Boulevard, the Belmont Bruins topped the visiting Bisons, winning 94-64. The game started with an 8-0 run by Belmont, and Talbott Denny scored the first points for the Bisons with a three. With 14:37 left in the first half, the lead was in favor of the Bruins, 15-6. By halftime, their lead had increased to 47-26. A steal and breakaway layup from the Bruins’ J.J. Mann gave Belmont the momentum heading into the the half. Malcolm Smith opened the second half with six consecutive points for the Bisons. However, any momentum gained from Smith’s run was erased with a two-handed slam from the Bruins’ Craig Bradshaw to make the score 58-34. Belmont would later seal its second ‘Battle’ win of the season. “They were a significantly better team than they were the first time that we played,” Lipscomb head coach Casey Alexander said. The down-the-street rivals last played Nov. 8, a game that Belmont won, 87-83. “Belmont’s such a rhythm team, and when things are going their way, they’re literally about as good as anybody,” Alexander said. The loss for the Bisons dropped their record to 2-3 on the season. Malcolm Smith stepped up for the Bisons, nearly posting a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds. J.C. Hampton paced the Bisons, scoring the most points on the night with 16. “J.C.’s a good player, and he’s going to be a good player,” Alexander said of the redshirt freshman point guard. Evan Bradds was the leading scorer and rebounder for Belmont with 19 and...
by Cory Woodroof | Nov 16, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Coach Casey Alexander and his Bisons basketball squad have officially earned the respect of one of the SEC’s regular hoops contenders. After Monday’s rebounding win against an impressive Oakland City, the men’s basketball team traveled down the road to Vanderbilt to play their first of two non-conference games against SEC teams this season (a trip to Athens to face the Georgia Bulldogs awaits on Dec. 14). Despite losing 80-69, Lipscomb put up a valiant effort against a tough Commodores team, with both teams giving the spectators at Memorial Gymnasium a high-flying contest of buzzer-beating threes, big dunks and booming momentum swings. From the first minutes in, Vandy looked to be setting their own pace for the game with an early 9-2 lead at around the 16 minute mark. However, the Bisons quickly made big plays of their own to whittle down the margin. As the half continued, the Bisons and Commodores looked to be evenly matched. Vanderbilt led by 3 at the half. For the second half, foul trouble continued to be costly for the Bisons, with many impact players close to fouling out as the minutes went on. Even through the fouls, Lipscomb kept up with Vandy, keeping things interesting until the game’s final stretch. During which, the Commodores began to build on a tone-setting lead, eventually securing their second win of the season. Redshirt freshman J.C. Hampton continues to be a difference maker for the Bisons, posting a team-best 21 points and 5 assists, along with 5 rebounds. Senior Khion Sankey had 15 points for the evening, while sophomore Talbott Denny led the team in rebounding with...
by Cory Woodroof | Nov 8, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
A big storyline coming into tonight’s 133rd annual Battle of the Boulevard was the dawn of Casey Alexander’s era of Lipscomb men’s basketball in a season-opening game that pitted him against his old friend and new on-court competitor Rick Byrd. After the game, though, it’s pretty apparent that everyone will now be talking about how a group of Bisons under new leadership nearly toppled an Ohio Valley giant. Unlike last December’s demolishing 100-66 loss at the Curb Event Center, and last November’s 89-60 walloping at home, the Lipscomb men’s basketball team went blow for blow with the rival-down-the-road Belmont Bruins for forty minutes Friday night in Allen Arena, nearly upsetting Belmont in a close contest. In one of those games where it truly depended on who was holding the basketball last, a crowd of close to 5000 watched the Bruins emerge from the brawl victorious, winning 87-83 and notching a second consecutive ‘Battle’ win at Allen. From the get-go, Lipscomb and Belmont didn’t budge on letting either team take a wide margin lead. The Bruins were the first to get close, going up 20-10 at 11:06 in the first half with a potentially tone-setting dunk from redshirt senior Blake Jenkins. But, the Bisons remained persistent, chipping away at Belmont’s lead. At the half, Belmont led 35-32. In the second half, redshirt freshman J.C. Hampton and redshirt junior Carter Sanderson began to get open from the arc, knocking down key three-pointers that helped the Bisons go up by eight with 13:02 left in the game. However, the Bruins continued to capitalize on Lipscomb fouls from the line, never allowing the...
by Erika Thornsberry | Nov 2, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb’s women’s and men’s cross country teams are each Atlantic-Sun Conference Champions. The victory for the women’s cross country team makes this their third consecutive time winning conference. For the men, they’ve earned their first A-Sun title. Coming into the race, both teams were ranked number one in the coaches’ poll. Lipscomb’s men and women had four runners finish in the top seven. The top runner for the women’s team was freshman Sally Larson, who finished fourth in the race. “It’s awesome to have conference on our home course,” Larson said. “We have really fought with everything we had today. It was great to have so much school support here. I’m just thrilled for our team, and I’m really looking forward to the next 3 years here.” Besides helping the Lady Bisons win conference, Larson has been named Freshman Runner of the Year. Juan Gonzalez also had been named Freshman Runner of the Year from the men’s team. “Everyone was ready for this. We have been training so hard from summer up until now,” Gonzalez said. “We all knew this was going to be a hard race, but in the end, we were going to do whatever it took to finish.” Gonzalez and Larson ended their interviews giving all the credit to the Lord by saying, “All the Glory be to God.” Coach Bill Taylor was named both the A-Sun women’s and men’s coach of the Year. Other individual honors are as follows: WOMENS All-Atlantic Sun – First Team Selections Lipscomb – Sally Larson Lipscomb – Tessa Hoefle Lipscomb – Madelin Talbert Lipscomb – Dani Walker All-Atlantic Sun...
by Cory Woodroof | Oct 31, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
The Casey Alexander era of men’s basketball offered a sampling of what’s to come in Allen Area Thursday night as the Bisons posted up a 95-83 exhibition win over the visiting Freed-Hardeman Lions. The Bisons and Lions’ pre-season match-up truly defined the phrase “back-and-forth,” as most of the game was a power struggle to see who could hold on to their low-margin lead. For most of the first half, Freed Hardeman had a small leg up on the Bisons, but Lipscomb managed to use the final minutes effectively to enter halftime with a 50-45 lead over the Lions. The second half quickly began to mirror the first, and it wasn’t until junior Martin Smith got hot from the arch (sinking four 3-pointers) that the Bisons truly began to run away with the game. Martin Smith led the Bisons in scoring with 23, while redshirt freshman J.C. Hampton had 20. Sophomore J.J. Butler led the team in assists with 7, while junior Malcom Smith topped rebounds with 7. He also had 14 points on the night. Hampton expressed his enthusiasm in the team returning to the court for the season. “It just felt good being back out with the team, playing hard,” Hampton said. He credited the team’s defensive play for helping lift the team in the second half. Next week presents a new challenge for the Bisons as the annual Battle of the Boulevard makes it way to Lipscomb’s campus to open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 8. Hampton says that the team will need to continue to focus on defense as the Bruins await. Check below for...
