by Grant Ledgister | Feb 24, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
Throughout Lipscomb’s second annual Day of Giving on Thursday, 3,520 students, alumni, and parents from all 50 states and several countries gave a total of $826,900. This quickly surpassed the goal the university had set of 2,020 donators, which unlocked a $100,000 match from an anonymous donor “for the students.” Even though the donors were mainly parents and alumni, some students thought the expectation to give was on them. “I feel like the Day of Giving would be more effective if it was a message to the parents — that the school knows is paying fully for tuition,” said sophomore LilliAnn Sutherlin. “If you ask the students as a whole you will be asking people who do not have a full-time job and some of them are struggling to pay tuition. To ask students to give money is to ask an infant to pay the bills. However, parents who are paying full tuition for their child are likely to have a job that allows them to have money to give with the incentive to make their child’s campus a better place with their donations.” At the headquarters of the event, Stephanie Carroll, the Assistant Vice President for Annual Giving and leader of the Day of Giving, did clarify the role students had in the drive. “The biggest thing that students can be doing is writing thank you notes,” said Carroll. “We want every donor to receive a personal thank you note from a student. These donors give so that it will have an impact on the students’ lives.” For example, to bring attention to the fundraiser, giveaways were held...
by Mckenzi Harris | Feb 18, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
Former Lipscomb University basketball player, Garrison Mathews returns to Allen Arena. Mathews came back to watch his former teammates face off against FGCU on Saturday. Mathews a former Bison, second all-time scorer in ASUN conference, and one of the first players to go to the NBA. His new home is in Washington D.C. where he plays for the Washington Wizards. Announcements were made to the public by social media that Mathews would be in attendance at Saturday’s game. Many fans poured into Allen Arena for the homecoming of Garrison Mathews. People of all ages wearing Washington Wizards jerseys in the room, repping #24 in honor of the Lipscomb graduate. Before the men’s game started, Star Wars t-shirts were passed out along with a Washington Wizards poster with Mathews on it. The line was wrapped around the building with many fans hoping to get one so they could get an autograph. Before tip-off, Lipscomb honored this former Bison by playing a welcome home video which highlighted some of his time at Lipscomb and now as a Wizards player. As soon as the video concluded Mathews was surrounded by children instantly – all of which who were excited and waiting to get an autograph from Mathews himself. Athletic Director Philip Hutchinson, had to quickly move those Junior Bisons into the stands as they were crowding the court. Matthews graciously gave an autograph to each person that came up to him. “It’s always nice coming home to see familiar faces,” said Mathews. “It’s a blessing I can’t thank everyone enough that’s gotten me to where I’m at.” Garrison Mathew’s is a shooting...
by Grant Ledgister | Feb 16, 2020 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Bisons defeated the FGCU Eagles 64-54 on Thursday night. Also in Allen Arena the Bisons made sure the Star Wars Night tradition continued and Garrison Mathews’ returned to Lipscomb. Tonight was Greg Jones’s night. The sophomore dropped 24 points, a career-high, including four three-pointers. “I’m proud of [Jones],” said Bisons Head Coach Lennie Acuff. “He didn’t get off to a great start, but the boy sure has rallied; he’s stayed the course and is seeing the fruit of it.” Ahsan Asadullah recorded his eleventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Miles Miller also was in double figures for the Bisons with 11 points. “We run offense through Ahsan,” said Acuff. “He’s having an unbelievable year – I think he should be the player of the year in the league.” Lipscomb started the game down 8-2 but scored the game’s next 13 points to take the lead. The Bisons went into halftime ahead 32-21 and never looked back. The key to the Bisons success was the defense. Lipscomb stole the ball 10 times, and Michael Buckland recorded a block. “We guarded well,” Acuff said. “We’ve continued to improve as a defensive team, and that’s important for us.” A poor shooting night for FGCU made matters worse for the team. The Eagles shot 20-53, including 9-26 from the three-point range. This led to several scoring droughts of two or more minutes throughout both halves for the Eagles. FGCU showed life in the second half but was not able to narrow the gap enough before Lipscomb regained control. “They made some really good runs,” said Greg...
by Erika Plunkett | Dec 31, 2019 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider, Sports
Down seven players, including leading scorer Bradley Beal, the Washington Wizards pulled off an upset win Tuesday night against the second-best team in the NBA, the Miami Heat. The Wizards’ success is due to their bench production, where they outscored Miami 80-27, including a career-high 28 points from former Lipscomb Bison Garrison Mathews. Mathews, a two-way player with the Capital City Go-Gos, was recently recalled to join the injury-ridden Wizards. Entering the game in the first quarter, Mathews quickly scored on a jumper, but it was not until the second quarter when Mathews got into a scoring rhythm. In that second period, he scored 20 points, while the Heat was only able to score 24 points. It's quick! ?#WizHeat | @gmathews_24 pic.twitter.com/oUMNsIuWZ5 — Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) December 31, 2019 Joining Mathews with a career high was Ian Mahinmi, who contributed 25 points; Jordan McRae led the team with 29 points. At the half, Wizards assistant coach David Adkins was asked about the strong performances from Mahinmi, McRae and Mathews; his response: “That’s 61 first-half points!” Speaking of Mathews, Adkins said, “Well, you know his nickname is ‘Wild Thing.’” And Mathews lived up to the name. While his offensive performance was not as strong in the second half, finishing with just 6 points after the break, he continued to draw attention, defenders and fouls, which opened up his teammates for shots. Mathews finished the night with 28 points, including four three-pointers and four assists. Mathews earned a standing ovation when he entered the game in the third quarter, accompanied by “M-V-P” chants, and the fan support continued when two questionable...
by Erika Plunkett | Oct 24, 2019 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider, Sports
For the first time in the history of Lipscomb basketball, a former Bison played in a regular-season NBA game. Garrison Mathews took the court for the Washington Wizards in their season opener against the Dallas Mavericks. With just under a minute left in the 4th quarter, Wizards coach Scott Brooks brought rookies Mathews and former Virginia Tech standout Justin Robinson in to close out the game for Washington. Mathews signed a two-way contract with the Wizards earlier this summer, which allows him to play in the NBA for 45 days and with the Wizards’ affiliate, the Capital City Go-Gos, for the remainder of the season. In his one minute of playing time, Mathews assisted fellow two-way player, Chris Chiozza, on a three, cutting the Mavericks winning margin to only eight, 108-100. However, Mathews was not the only player to make his NBA debut Wednesday night; across the court, fellow former Bison, Zach Flener, opened the season as a member of Dallas’s player development team. Prior to the game, Mathews and Flener were able to meet to wish each other luck as they both begin their new careers. Continue to follow the Washington Wizards as Garrison continues his NBA career and check back for updates on his career here at Lumination...
