by Grant Ledgister | Apr 1, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Bisons (14-12, 3-3 ASUN) swept Kennesaw State with a 13-2 victory at Ken Dugan Field Sunday. The game got off to a hot start for Lipscomb, as the Bisons hit four RBIs to take a quick 4-0 lead in the second inning. First baseman Cade Sorrells started the scoring spree by hitting a single that allowed a runner to advance to third base and then score on the next at-bat. But the scoring did not stop there. Third baseman Zeke Dodson launched a home run over the left field wall to start off the bottom of the third inning, and the Bisons added four more runs in the fifth, three in the sixth and one in the eighth. Senior pitcher Joshua Colon earned his first win of the season, throwing four of Lipscomb’s seven scoreless innings. Kennesaw State rotated through pitchers Jake McLinskey, Monty Horn and Devenir McCray by the end the fifth. Sorrells (3-for-5), Haddon Adams (3-for-4), Brian Moore (2-for-3) and Chris Bashlor (2-for-3) all had multiple hits for the Bisons. Terrence Norman (2-for-5) and Alex Carballo (2-for-5) had multiple hits for the Owls. Lipscomb’s defense played well, employing a bend-but-don’t-break strategy. The Owls had the bases loaded, but the Bisons were able to get the outs they needed to escape the inning without much damage. By the middle of end of the fifth inning, the Owls had stranded more than 10 runners on base and Lipscomb led 5-1. On Friday, the Bisons beat the Owls 6-3 for their first ASUN win of the year. Scoring came in the form of a series of RBI in...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 7, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
For as difficult as the 2018-19 season was for the Lipscomb women’s basketball team, it couldn’t have ended in a better way. Junior Carleigh Short banked a three just as the clock expired in overtime, giving the Lady Bisons a 72-69 victory over Kennesaw State at Allen Arena Tuesday. “The basketball gods smiled on us for once this season,” Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said. “It’s good to end that way and get a little bit of momentum to carry us forward.” Lipscomb closed the year with a dismal 4-25 record (2-14 ASUN) and missed the conference tournament for the first time since 2013. The Lady Bisons averaged 21 turnovers per game and shot just 34 percent from the field for the season. “It’s wild how well we’ve played at times versus how poorly we played at other times,” Brown said. “It’s been one extreme or the other. They continued to practice hard and do things well, but they just hadn’t been rewarded.” Was Tuesday’s victory a sign of good things to come? The evidence says that’s a possibility. The Lady Bisons don’t have any seniors, so their entire roster will return, including top scorers Taylor Clark (11.1 PPG) and Lauren Rau (8.5 PPG). Kaylee Cotton took a redshirt due to an injury and will be back next season. They’ve also added three high school signees, and Butler transfer Sydney Shelton will be eligible after sitting out this year. “Not having a senior is definitely weird, but it also gave the freshman and us juniors time to mature,” Short said. “I really think that next year, with three new people...
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 Russell Vannozzi | Mar 3, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Defeating a team three times in one season is no easy task, but that’s what the Lipscomb men’s basketball team must do if it wants to advance in the ASUN tournament. The No. 1 Bisons play No. 8 Kennesaw State on Monday night at 7 p.m. in Allen Arena. Lipscomb has home-court privileges for the entirety of the ASUN tournament after edging out Liberty (25-6, 14-2 ASUN) for the tiebreaker. “That’s what you work for,” coach Casey Alexander told LipscombSports.com. “I think the hardest thing to do in any sport, and at any level, is to be the best in your league. That’s a long-term measure of success, and our guys have been good for 16 games in the league.” Lipscomb (23-6, 14-2 ASUN) already owns two victories over Kennesaw State after beating them 86-57 on Jan. 21 in Nashville and 83-67 on Feb. 16 in Georgia. Ironically, the only time the two teams have met in the ASUN tourney was when Lipscomb was a No. 1 seed and Kennesaw State was a No. 8 seed in 2010. The Owls squeaked out a 72-69 upset. “It was a completely different time, but we know,” Alexander said. “Anything can happen in a 40-minute game, regardless of seed, and that’s the way we approach it.” BREAKING DOWN THE OWLS Kennesaw State has had a difficult year. The Owls finished the regular season 6-25 overall (3-13 ASUN), and coach Al Skinner recently announced his resignation, effective at the end of the season. But the Owls have the ASUN’s second-leading scorer in junior Tyler Hooker (19.0 PPG) – second only to Mathews (19.8...
by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 17, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
KENNESAW, Ga. – The 2018-19 season continues to be tough sledding for the Lipscomb women’s basketball team. Despite a win over Jacksonville last Saturday and a narrow loss to Liberty on Tuesday, the Lady Bisons regressed Saturday afternoon in a 67-36 blowout loss at Kennesaw State. “I did not see this coming,” Lipscomb coach Greg Brown said. “I liked what we had done over the last few weeks. We had two very good days off practice [after losing to Liberty].” The Lady Bisons (3-22, 1-11 ASUN) committed 24 turnovers and shot just 23 percent (13-of-57) from the floor. Kennesaw State took full advantage by scoring 26 of its 67 points off turnovers. “The missed shots, especially when you miss shots in the paint, mess up your transition getting back [on defense],” Brown said. “When you have 24 turnovers and shoot 23 percent, it’s going to be tough.” The Owls led 28-18 at halftime but used a 12-0 run to start the third quarter to pull away from the Lady Bisons. Kamiyah Street had a game-high 25 points for Kennesaw State and routinely burned Lipscomb’s defense on fast breaks. Owl guard Amani Johnson also had 16 points. “I just tell them to put energy and emotion toward things you can control,” Brown said. “We’ve done a good job of that, for the most part. But we did not do a good job of that today.” Lipscomb freshman Keely Morrow was a bright spot. The forward followed up her 22-point performance at Liberty with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds. “Keely’s had a great few weeks,” Brown said. “Things are...
