by Spencer Boehme | Jan 22, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team continued to steamroll through the ASUN as the Bisons grabbed an 86-57 win over the Kennesaw State Owls in Allen Arena Monday night. The Owls (3-17, 0-5 ASUN) kept things a bit too close for comfort for Lipscomb at first, but the Bisons (14-4, 5-0 ASUN) broke away in the second half to stay perfect in conference play. “[You’ve] gotta be prepared for everything,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “And I felt like our guys handled the game where we never really played with great rhythm but still [won] by 29.” The Bisons were led by senior guard Garrison Mathews, who posted 25 points and tied for a team-leading four assists. Senior guard Nathan Moran led the Bisons in three-pointers, shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. “It’s just a start, and we have a lot of work to do,” Moran said. “If we can finish and do another 5-0, and another 5-0 [and] another 5-0, who knows where we’ll be?” Redshirt junior guard Tyler Hooker scored 18 for the Owls and led his team with five rebounds. Junior forward Isaac Mbuyamba finished with three blocks. The Bisons went 20-of-27 on free throws compared to the Owls’ 15-of-22. They also out-rebounded Kennesaw State 42-31, with 11 of those coming from senior forward Eli Pepper. Lipscomb won the steal battle, 8-5. “[Kennesaw State’s] pace is tough for us,” Alexander said. “Their tempo is slow and [they have] a lot of long possessions defensively.” The Owls played competitively for the first six minutes of the game, as they cut Lipscomb’s 7-2 lead to 11-7 with 14:36 to...
by Russell Vannozzi | Dec 9, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander was not happy with his team despite leading Navy 52-45 at halftime on Sunday. The Midshipmen offense entered the contest only averaging 62.5 points per game – good for 336th in the nation. “I just didn’t think we were dialed in defensively,” Alexander said. “I didn’t think our energy was very good. [Navy] made all the effort plays in the first half.” The Bisons (7-2) dialed up the defense in the second half and continued an offensive onslaught that resulted in a 107-81 blowout victory over Navy at Allen Arena. It was Lipscomb’s first 100-point performance of the season. Lipscomb made its post presence felt throughout the contest as Rob Marberry and Ahsan Asadullah finished with 26 and 24 points, respectively. The pair combined to shoot 20-of-24 from the field and 10-of-12 from the charity strip. “50 points out of our five spot is pretty good,” Alexander said. “[They] were highly efficient.” The Bisons also shot nearly 47 percent (10-of-21) from beyond the arc, making for a lethal attack that Navy could not match. “We just need a balanced [offense],” Marberry said. “With any of our five players on the court, we’re going to have a good guard and post presence. We’re excited to have that balance and depth this year.” Navy (3-6) was led by redshirt freshman guard John Carter Jr., who had 17 points in what was a homecoming of sorts for him. Carter is a Spring Hill native that graduated from Summit High School in 2017. George Kiernan (15 points), Cam Davis (13) and Josiah Strong (11) also finished in double figures for...
by Russell Vannozzi | Dec 6, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
This year’s Lipscomb basketball team may be one of the most talented the school has ever assembled. They just won’t be remembered by their Belmont performances. Although senior Nathan Moran had a chance to win it with a fadeaway three as the clock expired, the Bruins played like the better team for most of what became a 76-74 Belmont victory at the Curb Event Center Tuesday night. This one hurts a bit more because it came less than three weeks after an 87-83 home loss to the Bruins on Nov. 15. The Bisons are now 6-2, with both defeats at the hands of their archrival. Lipscomb also missed out on two opportunities for quality wins because Belmont (7-1) appears to be primed for a stellar year and possibly an OVC title. But these losses won’t define Lipscomb’s season. In fact, the very opposite is true. Short of a near-perfect season, the Bisons won’t be in consideration for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They must win the ASUN tournament title or they’ll be heading to the NIT, CIT or watching March basketball from home, regardless of how the rest of the regular season goes. That’s because the ASUN is simply too weak of a conference. Only four of the nine ASUN teams are currently in the top 250 of the NCAA’s new NET ranking system. Lipscomb’s strength of schedule will diminish as it enters ASUN play, and its chances for quality wins will be minimal. But Tuesday’s Battle of the Boulevard wasn’t all bad. Lipscomb didn’t play its best basketball yet still managed to give the Bruins all...
by Spencer Boehme | Dec 5, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
Two installments of the Battle of the Boulevard brought two heartbreaking finishes for the Lipscomb men’s basketball team. That’s the story after the Belmont Bruins (7-1) bested the Lipscomb Bisons (6-2) by a score of 76-74 in a crowded Curb Event Center Tuesday night. Down by two, Lipscomb had 0.8 seconds to score a game-tying or a game-winning shot off a throw-in from the goal side, but redshirt senior guard Nate Moran missed a three-point attempt that bounced around the rim and fell to the floor with no time left. “It was a good shot by a good shooter, and it didn’t go in,” Lipscomb head coach Casey Alexander said. “And so we lost.” Lipscomb’s starting five brought a mixed bag to the court. Senior forward Rob Marberry was the only player who scored more than 10 points for the Bisons, bringing in 26 points and four assists. He also tied for the team lead with eight rebounds. On the flip side, senior guard Garrison Mathews scored just five points, and senior forward Eli Pepper committed five fouls and exited the contest with 9:57 remaining. “I’ll give Belmont a lot of credit for doing a great job guarding [Mathews],” Alexander said. “And [I’ll] give Garrison a lot of credit for just staying within the game and taking what came to him instead of trying to do too much.” Alexander also said that Pepper “gives us so much versatility defensively, that we were scrambling a little bit.” Meanwhile, Belmont freshman center Nick Muszynski dropped a team-leading 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. The first half was incredibly competitive. With 9:43...
by Russell Vannozzi | Nov 25, 2018 | News Slider, Sports
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Losing to Belmont is never a part of the master plan for the Lipscomb men’s basketball team. Yet, despite dropping an 87-83 contest to their rival on Nov. 15, the Bisons have since reeled off three-straight victories and have their season trending in a positive direction just as the nonconference schedule starts to get serious. “After that Belmont loss, we just knew we didn’t play like we should have,” senior forward Rob Marberry said. “When we have a loss like that, you have to [figure out] what you did wrong, and we did.” It was certainly a productive Thanksgiving break for the Bisons, who also defeated SMU and No. 18 TCU earlier in the week. The win over the Horned Frogs was Lipscomb’s first-ever victory over a ranked team. “We went into the game knowing that we had a shot,” Marberry said. “We can beat any team, we can beat anybody right now. We have that in the back of our head throughout each game and [try to] play like it.” Lipscomb’s latest conquest came Sunday afternoon at Morehead State – an 87-55 drubbing that was never really in doubt. And the Bisons showed no signs of a letdown after their two wins in Texas. “What I was most concerned about with our team was the mentality that we took to the floor,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “But I was as pleased as I’ve been in a long time with our effort and our desire to play well.” Marberry finished with 13 points and six rebounds for Lipscomb. After missing Lipscomb’s first two games with...
