Bisons improve to 4-0 in conference play

Lipscomb remained undefeated and tied for first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference with an 80-77 double-overtime win over Jacksonville Thursday night. Lipscomb was missing two of its usual starters, Nathan Moran and Brett Wishon, due to concussions. Head coach Casey Alexander recognized that the adjustments to the line-up were a challenge. “Facing a zone for 40 minutes without your two best shooters is definitely a challenge,” Alexander said. “But we found a way to get it done.” Allen Arena had quite the buzz, from both the increased number of fans and with the participation of the Hunters Lane High School band. The Dolphins went off with an onslaught of offense, due to the high amount of turnovers from the Bisons early in the first half. The Bisons finished the first half trailing 35-21. The Dolphins knocked down five three-pointers toward the end of the half and shot nearly 50% from the field. Lipscomb, on the other hand, hit only three three-pointers and shot a little over 30%. The beginning of the second half was a completely different story, with the Bisons going on a 11-3 run in the first five minutes, cutting the Jacksonville lead to five. As six minutes ran off the clock, both sides were scoring back and forth, and with under four minutes left, the Dolphins led 54-53. With 1:18 remaining in regulation, Lipscomb freshman guard Aaron Korn tied the game at 58 with a three-pointer. With 26 seconds left, junior Talbott Denny took a charge. J.C. Hampton took the last shot of the game, which resulted in a near make that sent the game into the first overtime. “I thought our energy was...

Intense final seconds conlcude with a Bisons victory

One missed free throw with less than a minute left to play could have changed the outcome, but when freshman Nathan Moran sank his second foul shot, the Bisons defense was able to hold off the Spartans until the final buzzer. Moran did not lead the Bisons in any category Tuesday night, but his presence on the court was felt in the final minutes of play. The freshman played 29 minutes of the game against USC Upstate, but had just seven points. In a game that saw 12 lead changes, it was Moran who scored one free throw to give the Bisons a two-point cushion with less than a minute to play. Moran missed his first shot, leaving the crowd deflated, but picked everyone back up as he sank the second shot. “It just felt like another free throw,” Moran said. “I mean, missing it didn’t feel like another free throw, but it was another free throw.” After the second shot, the Bisons played defense that drew no fouls in the final seconds, which gave the Spartans no free opportunities in the end. At half time the score was tied, 32 all, but the Spartans took an early lead and held it through the majority of the second half. Senior Malcolm Smith drew a foul on a layup that went in to put the Bisons back in the lead, 52-51. Smith drew several hard fouls in the second half of the game by being aggressive against a tough Spartan defense. Junior Talbott Denny also played aggressively in the second half. Moran talked about how much he has benefitted from playing with these older teammates. “It’s...

Bisons split opening day of Atlantic Sun Conference play

After a full day of basketball in Allen Arena Saturday, the Lady Bisons finished with a loss to Northern Kentucky while the men dominated the Norse on the opening day of conference play. The Lady Bisons put up a strong fight throughout the first half against a quick-paced Lady Norse team, but the two teams remained close in scoring until the end of the first half which left Lipscomb trailing by fourteen points. Head coach Greg Brown rejuvenated the team during the break.  He stated later that he did not fault their energy at all, and the team did a great job of keeping their spirits up and imitating their routines from practice. Despite the needed break, the second half proved to be too much for the women.  In the final 20 minutes of the game, the Lady Bisons worked their way back and cut the lead to eight points; however, they struggled to completely close the deficit. “We held the ball a little bit too much on offense,” Brown said. Junior Danay Fothergill and redshirt sophomore Chandler Cooper revived their team with multiple points off of steals on defense and strong offensive plays.  Fothergill was the leading scorer with 21 points. Ultimately, the Lady Bisons could not pull out the win they desired going into the first conference game. The Lady Norse came away with the 81-70 victory. “I thought we played very tough, but we have to be able to put toughness and intensity and technique together for forty minutes,” Brown said. The men’s game, however, had a very different ending. The Bisons were determined from the beginning to bring Lipscomb...

Bisons conclude non-conference play with two wins

The Lady Bisons broke their three game losing streak while the men’s team bounced back with a win after losing to Missouri. Against Trevecca, the game was a tale of two halves. The Lady Bisons were down 39-34 at half time before coming out with a strong effort in the second half. At just over 16 minutes, Lipscomb took a 47-41 lead and kept it the rest of the game. “We came out flat in the first half. It’s the first day back to classes, and we just weren’t ready to play in the first half,” head coach Greg Brown said. “I told them to forget the first half, make the adjustments and go, and I thought they played with a lot more intensity in the second half.”  The Lady Bisons had a strong offensive game in the second half that was led by senior Danay Fothergill. Fothergill had 26 points on the game and made shots from the paint as well as the three point line. Brown said that even though he’s happy with the win, his team needs to come out strong for all 40 minutes of conference games, not just the second half. “We told them to treat this game like it’s the first game of conference,” Brown said. “Hopefully it teaches them that that’s a great 20 minutes, but in the conference, these next games, you can’t afford to do that.” The Lady Bisons shot their best field goal percentage of the season against Trevecca. At the end of the game, the team had shot 54.1 percent from the field. Lipscomb came away with the 95-71 win improving their...

Bisons lose 72-60 to Missouri

Freshman guard Nathan Moran scored 17 points in the Bison’s 72-60 loss to Missouri this Saturday in Allen Arena.  Sophomore guard Josh Williams added 11 points and seven rebounds. Lipscomb led 35-33 at halftime.  The Bisons were unable to hit a basket in the final 9:33 of the game. Missouri’s Johnat Williams III scored 16, while Keith Shamburger added 15. Missouri’s record improved to 6-7 overall. This loss was the first the men’s basketball team in 2015. Lipscomb’s record fell to 5-9 overall. The Bisons will play Rhodes College in Allen Arena on Jan. 5 before they start conference...