Men’s soccer nets last minute win in A-Sun opener

The men’s soccer team notched a win in the final moments of their first Atlantic Sun Conference game of the season Wednesday night. The Bisons came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1 in the 87 minute. Junior Matt Kerridge scored off of an assist from Senior Omar Djabi to give the Bisons the lead in the waning moments. Although Lipscomb dominated ball possession for most of the game, USC Upstate held the league for the game’s first 65 minutes. The Spartans earned a penalty kick in the 32 minute, and junior Marvin Schmiege converted to give them the 1-0 lead. Senior Luke Gearin headed the ball into the back of the net to tie the game up at one. Gearin scored off of a free kick from Djabi, one of his two assists in the game. The goal was Gearin’s six for the season, putting him in first place in the A-Sun. Djabi also moved into first place in an A-Sun category thanks to his two assists. He now has five assists on the season, enough to tie him with fellow Bison, freshman Ivan Alvarado, for first in the conference. Lipscomb outshot the Spartans 30-7 on the night, including 15-3 in the second half. Despite the two goals allowed, Upstate’s sophomore goalkeeper Hassan Haddad had a strong showing with seven saves on the barrage of Bison...

Games against Texas, Colorado highlight 2014-15 men’s basketball schedule

The 2014-15 men’s basketball schedule has been released, and several high profile matchups dot the early portion of the season. The Bisons kick off the season at home on November 14 with a game against Berry College, followed by the home slate of Battle of the Boulevard on November 17. The team will travel down the road to Vanberbilt on November 20 and finish up the Battle of the Boulevard 2014 series at Belmont on November 24. Lipscomb’s first game outside of Nashville will be on November 30 against Colorado of the newly-minted Pac-12. After three straight games in Tennessee at Tennessee Tech, at home against Tennessee State University and on the road with Austin Peay on Decemeber 3, 6, and 13 respectively, the Bisons will travel to Austin for a matchup with Big-12 powerhouse Texas on December 16. SEC newcomer Missouri will receive a taste of the Lipscomb game on January 3 in Columbia in the last road game before A-Sun Conference play kicks off on January 10 at home against Northern Kentucky. Key conference tilts include two games against recent March Madness darlings Florida Gulf Coast, one on the road (January 31) and one at home (February 14), as well as a home (January 13) and away (February 25) slate with USC Upstate. The regular season closes on February 28 at home versus Kennesaw State, followed by the beginning of the A-Sun Tournament on March 3. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Lady Bisons softball team earns NCAA Tournament bid

For the second time in school history the Lady Bisons softball team will be competing in the NCAA Division 1 Softball Championship. After Lipscomb was shut out by Stetson and USC Upstate in last week’s  Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament at Draper Diamond, there were doubts as to whether the Lady Bisons would make the field of 64. However, Lipscomb’s name was called on Sunday night during the selection show. The Lady Bisons (39-13) will be heading to the Knoxville Regional, where they will be joined by host and No. 10 Tennessee, Virginia Tech (35-21) and Charleston Southern (27-31-1). They will open up tourney action at 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday, when they will play Virginia Tech. The Lady Bisons defeated Tech 2-1 at home during the opening game of the regular season, thanks to a walk-off home run by senior Kristen Sturdivant. The Lady Bisons were among three Atlantic Sun Conference teams to make the tournament. It was the first time in conference history that multiple teams made the NCAA Tournament. Tournament champion Stetson will play in the regional hosted by No. 5 Florida, and USC Upstate will play in the regional hosted by No. 2 Alabama. The NCAA Tournament appearance, the team’s first since playing in the Tuscaloosa Regional in 2010, will give the seniors a second chance to go out on a good note. Friday’s Lady Bisons game against Virginia Tech will be followed by Tennessee’s 5 p.m. showdown with Charleston Southern. The double-elimination regional ends Sunday afternoon. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Lady Bisons softball team eliminated from A-Sun Softball Championship, awaiting possible NCAA tourney bid

The Lipscomb Lady Bisons softball team was eliminated from the Atlantic Sun Softball Championship Thursday evening at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. The 3-0 loss to USC Upstate that ended the tourney for the Lady Bisons was the end of a scoreless day for the home team. Earlier Thursday, the Lady Bisons lost their first game of the tournament to the Stetson Hatters 2-0. That struggle began with senior pitcher Ashley Anderson walking in a run in the first inning. The Lady Bisons had a chance to answer when junior infielder Paige Neely got a single in the bottom of the inning but was left stranded. The next runner to cross the plate did not come until the fifth inning. Stetson junior infielder Demi Meza and senior pitcher/infielder Meredith Owen earned back-to-back walks. Meza and Owen were bunted over by sophomore infielder Kayla Drury. Meza scored on a sacrifice fly from junior utility player Amanda Grimaldo to give the Hatters a 2-0 lead. The Lady Bisons scattered six hits in the losing effort. Anderson picked up the loss. Her record fell to 19-5. Owen picked up the victory for the Hatters, improving her record to 24-7. Lipscomb head coach Kristin Ryman said she was not expecting the morning to end like it did. “I thought we came out in good spirits,” Ryman said. “We struggled to adjust to the strike zone early in the game. It’s frustrating to come into a game expecting to start one way and not have that happen.” The offensive struggles continued for the Lady Bisons Thursday evening in game two against USC Upstate. Upstate got on the board...

Bisons’ win streak ends with home loss to ETSU

The Force was strong with the Bisons in Saturday’s game against ETSU in Allen Arena, but not strong enough. Lipscomb Athletics hosted the 6th annual Star Wars night during the Bisons’ game against Eastern Tennessee State University but the team fell 96-88 to the visiting Buccaneers. While the children got pictures with their favorite bounty hunters, Jedi and even Darth Vader, Lipscomb stayed neck-and-neck with the Bucs until about the final three minutes. From the tip-off, freshman guard Josh Williams scored the first three points of the game from the left of the basket. From there, neither team stopped shooting threes. The Buccaneers attempted 15 shots from the arch in the game and made seven. Junior ETSU guard Jalen Riley scored 12 points behind the arc, while scoring 30 in total for the night. The Bisons made 13 of their 34 three-point attempts, finishing with a 38 percent three-point shooting percentage. It was a close game, as the scored had been tied 15 times, and there were 27 lead changes. The Bisons’ scoring slowed and nearly came to a halt in the final minutes as ETSU pulled away with free throws. Head coach Casey Alexander said that although the team kept it close, the Bisons could not get in rhythm or be aggressive. “We never got in a rhythm defensively. We could never get stops together; we could never stop their offensive momentum. “We weren’t necessarily behind in points, but we were never the aggressor out in front out there.” Lipscomb had two players cross the 20 points mark. Junior forward Malcolm Smith lead the team with 27 points. Redshirt...