by Russell Vannozzi | Feb 7, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Lipscomb men’s basketball team just keeps on rolling through the ASUN. After five straight losses at UNF Arena since 2014, the Bisons easily dispatched North Florida, 92-55, with a dominating performance on both ends of the court Wednesday night. “If we play like we did [tonight], we’ll beat a lot of teams,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “(North Florida) is in a tough spot right now, but regardless, it’s good for our team to come in here and take care of business.” The victory extended Lipscomb’s win streak to 10 games – a record in the program’s Division I era. The Bisons won nine consecutive games during the ASUN portion of their 2008-09 schedule. Garrison Mathews led the team with 22 points and five three-pointers. Junior Michael Buckland was a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc and set a new season high of 15 points. “We have a lot of really good scorers on this team,” Buckland said. “The ball doesn’t always come my way, but when it does, I have to be ready.” Lipscomb last won at UNF Arena on Feb. 1, 2014. The Ospreys hold a 13-5 advantage in the series over the last eight seasons, but the Bisons have now won the last three meetings. “All of our nerves were kind of up,” Mathews said. “Coach pounded in our heads that none of us have ever won here. It was good to get a win.” The Bisons (19-4, 10-0 ASUN) began to slowly build a lead in the early minutes before ending the first half on a 26-9 run to take a...
by Russell Vannozzi | Jan 10, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Eli Pepper etched his name in the Lipscomb basketball record books Tuesday night. The lanky post grabbed his 841st career rebound in an 81-66 victory over North Florida, surpassing Adnan Hodzic’s previous record of 840 boards. Pepper now stands alone as Lipscomb’s most decorated rebounder in the NCAA Division I era, which began with the 2001-02 season. “It took a lot of hard work,” Pepper said. “[The record] is not what it’s ever been about. It’s been a goal, of course. But it’s more about this team and taking last year’s history and doing better and going further.” The feat did not come easily. The Kentucky native struggled with consistency early in his career and has often been overshadowed by Lipscomb’s premier scorers like Garrison Mathews and Rob Marberry. But now, as a senior, coach Casey Alexander said that Pepper serves as a model of consistency and an example for the team’s younger players. “His effort is always there,” Alexander said. “The thing we can count on the most with Eli is him being ready and giving his best effort. You have a good player and the making of a good team when you have a lot of those guys.” Pepper’s night against the Ospreys included much more than just the rebounding record. He finished with 20 points and 11 boards for his third double-double of the season. He also hit a trio of shots from beyond the arc for the second-straight game. Pepper is shooting 42 percent (11-of-26) from long range this season. “I’ve told a lot of people that it’s taken four years,” Pepper said of his shooting...
by Grant Ledgister | Jan 10, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
ASUN conference play is heating up, which means every game is important and no opponent should be underestimated. It was touch-and-go for a good portion of the first half, but the Lipscomb men’s basketball team turned up the heat on the North Florida Ospreys and never let go in an 81-66 victory at Allen Arena Tuesday night. Senior guard Garrison Mathews returned to action after missing last Saturday’s game with a leg injury he suffered at Clemson on Dec. 30. He scored 25 points and knocked down five shots from beyond the arc, in addtion to giving the Bisons a boost with his veteran leadership and poise. Lipscomb (11-4, 2-0 in ASUN play) has dropped four of its last five games to the Ospreys (7-10, 1-1 in ASUN play), and early on in Wednesday’s contest it looked as if trend might continue. Despite senior forward Eli Pepper grabbing his Lipscomb record-setting 841st rebound, neither team was playing particularly well. The teams combined for 16 turnovers – 9 of which were committed by Lipscomb – with around 8 minutes to go in the half. Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said he was disappointed with how often his team turned it over. “This is three games in a row where we’ve uncharacteristically made a lot of turnovers,” he said. “We’ve got to fix it. It’s personal pride. It’s just being a little bit more solid decision-making performance.” The Bisons wouldn’t make the fix before the end of the first half, going on to commit 6 more turnovers. But they kept pouring on the points anyway. A good stretch of possessions, including a...
by Charlie Bateman | May 25, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
When Lipscomb’s baseball team takes on Vanderbilt in the NCAA regionals Friday evening, coach Jeff Forehand will be just beginning his dream “business trip.” The trip to Vandy’s Hawkins Field, just off West End, isn’t the final destination of that dream. He’s not looking past Vanderbilt, but he has goals of getting much farther west, to Omaha — home of the College World Series. That’s where the Commodores were crowned national champions last year, and he knows Vanderbilt is looking for a repeat. “Every year we work for the same goal,” said Forehand, after his team won the Atlantic Sun tournament over the weekend and earned the school’s second NCAA tourney bid. “We want to end up playing in Omaha.” Of course, you’ve got to start somewhere, so Forehand said he believes the game at Vandy is just the first step of many to accomplish the goal of making it to the World Series. The Bisons baseball team defeated North Florida 8-7 in the Atlantic Sun baseball tournament championship game. Others in the Nashville region bracket include Vanderbilt, Indiana, and Radford. Vanderbilt will be the host team for this division. “This is somethng we have been working towards all season long, to see our name called on the screen for postseason play,” Forehand told Lipscomb athletics department reporter Kirk Downs, after his team watched the selection show on Monday. “It has been such a big day for our team to be able to see that together. “Vanderbilt is such a great team and it will be a unique experience kicking off the tournament on their home field right here...
by Chad Johnson | Apr 13, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
It was almost a perfect conclusion to an already special weekend for the Lipscomb softball team — almost. After winning the first two games of the three-game conference series on Saturday, the Lady Bisons were upended by the North Florida Ospreys 7-6 on Sunday afternoon at Draper Diamond at Smith Field. Despite a late rally in the sixth and seventh innings, the Lady Bisons came up short in the end of the last game. “We did a good job late in the game with runners on, but not early in the game,” Lipscomb coach Kristin Ryman said. “It stinks that six runs is not enough. I think we should have capitalized on some things earlier in the game but we didn’t.” Lipscomb had no problem getting on base, as they recorded nine hits total, but couldn’t quite finish the job when they needed to. “We can’t leave bases loaded twice in the first five innings,” Ryman said. “That was a killer.” Despite the loss on Sunday, Ryman was optimistic about the two wins on Saturday. “We’re at the point of the season where every game matters,” Ryman said. “That is a positive takeaway.” The Lady Bisons were led offensively by senior Paige Neely and freshman Abby Fenichel who each had three hits while junior Baylee Williams added two of her own. Williams and junior Brittany Elmore also led the way with two RBI’s a piece. In the circle, junior Kelly Young was accredited with the loss. She gave up six runs on five hits while striking out seven. On Saturday afternoon, the ending was different in both games. Senior Gracey Aguirre bolted a solo homer over the left-center...
