by Hunter Patterson | Feb 29, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
If Lipscomb coach Scott Sanderson is looking for a way to entertain his players on the way to Macon, Ga., he might want to screen the movie “Hoosiers”. The fictional Hickory High team, undersized and outmanned, won the Indiana State Championship in 1954. But it was more than movie magic. The Hickory team stood in for Milan High School which actually did win that championship in 1954, sparking the production of the movie. The Bison can certainly use the motivation. They enter the eight-team General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Tournament at the University Center on the campus of Mercer University as a No. 7 seed with an 8-10 conference record, 13-17 overall. Wednesday night at 7:30 central time they will face No. 2-seeded Mercer, the tournament host with a 13-5 A-Sun record, 21-01 overall. Video Broadcast: ESPN3 (Mike Morgan, play-by-play; Sonny Smith, color analyst) Radio: WPRT 102.5 The Game (Jonathan Seamon, play-by-play; Justin Seamon, color analyst) “We have had to shuffle some guys around,” Sanderson said. “Different guys have had to play different roles the last several games. Hopefully, we can maximize our ability. “We are going to have to manage how we play both offensively and defensively. We have to manage playing time. How you play defensively is very, very important.” It is the lowest seed ever for the Bison in the A-Sun Tournament. They have been the No. 1 seed twice (2006, 2010), No. 4 three times (2007, 2009, 2011) and No. 5 twice (2005, 2008). “Tournament play is a lot different,” Sanderson said. “We go into this tournament a lot different than we have the last couple...
by Hunter Patterson | Feb 27, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
Bison basketball players Damarius Smith and Marvin Williams were not present at Monday’s practice just two days before the opening round of the Atlantic Sun tournament. Smith, a redshirt freshman, and Williams, also a freshman, did not participate in Monday’s practice and are not expected to join the team in Macon, Ga., for the Atlantic Sun tournament. A source close to the team says “it will be a very interesting 24 hours for the Lipscomb basketball team.” Lipscomb head coach Scott Sanderson said that it was mainly a “disciplinary issue” with Smith. Sanderson did not elaborate on Williams’ status but said he has missed the last four games because he has been “banged up” with a knee injury. This is not the first time Smith has been held out of playing. Earlier this season against Belmont, Smith dressed and warmed up with the team but did not enter the game. “It was just a discipline issue,” Sanderson said of Smith’s status in the Belmont game. “We handled it internally, and we moved forward.” “We’re just trying to learn and do what’s right,” he said. “Sometimes being young is difficult, and we are just trying to learn from day to day and do the right thing.” Smith averaged 5.2 points per game this season. The most notable points came when he hit the game-winning three in overtime versus Stetson on Jan. 16. Williams had an up-and-down year dealing with injuries and maturing as a player, but just over two weeks ago the Memphis, native scored a season-high 16 points in a 99-91 win over Stetson on Feb. 11. Smith and...
by Hunter Patterson | Feb 11, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE (Feb. 11, 2012) – The Bison bench may have been one man short on Saturday, but that did not stop the team from scoring 99 points in their overtime victory over Stetson. Lipscomb outscored the Hatters 25-17 in overtime to improve their conference record to 7-6. The Bison’s overall record is now 12-13. This was the first game since senior guard Jordan Burgason was suspended after he violated team rules. The team shot 3-of-15 from the 3-point line on Saturday. The 20 percent shooting performance is far worse than the Bison’s season-long percentage of 38.4 percent. Deonte Alexander, the team’s leading scorer versus Stetson (27), made two of the 3-pointers. The nine points that were accounted for from three is a season-low for the team. The second lowest total is 15 when the Bisons shot 5-24 from three against Austin Peay State and 5-13 versus North Florida. However, the team’s 99 points scored against Stetson is the second highest total recorded all season. The first was also against Stetson, a game the Bisons won 104-103. Both games were decided in overtime. Lipscomb continues its road trip Monday night against Florida Gulf Coast in Ft. Myers, Fla, at 6 p.m. central. The Lipscomb Sports Network presented by Jackson will carry the action on 102.5 The...
by Hunter Patterson | Jan 26, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
Respect, bragging rights, an undefeated record and an entire boulevard were at stake on Tuesday night when the Battle of the Boulevard went down inside Allen Arena. Coming off of a big win against USC Upstate, the Bisons had all the confidence in the world that they would be able to improve since the last time they faced the Bruins. The Bisons lost that game 88-52 less than two weeks ago. With the deck stacked against them coming into the game and for much of the first half, the Bisons were able to rally from an 18-point deficit with 24 minutes left in the game. “For the first 16 minutes, we were not very good,” Coach Scott Sanderson said. “We didn’t do anything we wanted to do offensively and defensively. I was extremely aggravated at our players.” In the last four minutes of the first half, the Bisons started their run. Trailing 38-20, the Bisons cut it to 40-31 with an 11-2 run that re-energized not only the team but the fans as well. Luckily for Sanderson, the Bisons did not stop their scoring when the half ended. The Bisons came out red-hot and outscored their cross-town rivals 42-24. “To come back from an 18-point deficit says even more about the resiliency of our players,” Sanderson said. “But it is one game with nine more games to go. We have 32 days to keep getting better until March gets here.” After the game at Belmont earlier this month, some questioned if Lipscomb center Adnan Hodzic was outmatched by Belmont big men Mick Hedgepeth and Scott Saunders. The Bosnian native...
by Jeremy Keck | Oct 12, 2010 | Sports
The return of the Bisons’ most-honored player, a deep bench and two freshmen contending for playing time are just some of the reasons Coach Scott Sanderson is excited about the 2010-2011 basketball season. His team received a scare during the off-season, when star post and reigning A-Sun Player of the Year, Adnan Hodzic, initially declared for the NBA draft. Hodzic withdrew, and with him and 10 more players returning from last year’s team, the Bisons look to build on their 17-13 regular season, 14-6 conference records. The coach views the non-conference schedule as “a byproduct of getting us ready for league play.” Highlighting the Bison non-conference schedule this year are games against North Carolina, Memphis, Alabama, and Baylor. “We’re not going to go into any venue in our league that’s going be as tough as North Carolina, Baylor, Alabama or Memphis,” Sanderson said. “I feel like we can compete in those games. The last couple of years we have won a couple of them and have been competitive in all of them.” The Bisons will open their season against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and the game will be televised on Fox Sports South. The Bisons have added three freshmen to the roster this off-season. Carter Sanderson, Coach Sanderson’s son, will be red-shirting this season as he gets familiar with the system. Robert Boyd, a point guard out of Fulton High School in Knoxville, could push for some playing time this season. “He’s a great defender,” Sanderson said. “He’s a pass first, shoot second type of point guard.” Finally Demarius “D.D.” Smith, 6-foot-4 guard from Kenwood High School in Clarksville, might also see playing time this...
