If the Lipscomb men’s basketball team wants to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance, it may need to figure out a way to stop Dallas Moore.
UNF’s senior star scored a career-high 39 points on Thursday night in Allen Arena to sweep the season series and end Lipscomb’s six-game win streak. Moore is now responsible for the Bisons last two losses. The Atlantic Sun scoring leader (23.5 PPG) dropped 36 in the Osprey’s win over Lipscomb in January.
The Bisons (17-12, 9-3), fell to second-place in the conference standings with the loss, one game behind FGCU, who narrowly defeated NJIT 80-73.
With only two games left in the regular season, Lipscomb now needs a loss by FGCU to share the conference title and have a chance at earning home-court advantage throughout the Atlantic Sun Tournament.
Coach Casey Alexander was disappointed in his team’s performance in such a crucial game, especially on the defensive end, where North Florida shot a blistering 64.1% from the field.
“Our common theme all night was trying to find a spark, and I think we came ready to play, but we didn’t have anything extra when we needed to have it,” Alexander said. “I think our guys were hoping something good would come their way instead of making something happen.
“We’ve had enough games that we’ve won this year where we didn’t play well on offense like tonight, and that’s where the biggest disappointment is. We didn’t do anything on defense to cause them any worries at all.”
The Bisons struggled with North Florida’s extended 2-3 zone, shooting 44.3% from the field and just 8-for-33 from three-point land. Lipscomb was able to get the ball in the post with ease for most of the night, but failed to create enough easy opportunities to keep up with Moore and the Ospreys.
“In our game (at North Florida) we attacked the rim a lot and came up empty,”Alexander said. “We talked about making better decisions, but what it did was it made us too passive. I don’t think we put any pressure on them and were pretty timid all night long.
“We haven’t struggled to score against them necessarily, but we have struggled to find a good rhythm offensively,” Alexander said.
A four-minute scoring drought early in the first half by Lipscomb helped the Ospreys take a 41-33 lead into the break.
The Bisons clawed back to tie the game at 51 on a Josh Williams jumper with just over 12 minutes remaining, but UNF answered with a 15-7 run and never looked back. Shooting percentage was clearly the difference in the game as most of the other team stats were virtually identical.
Alexander and the Bisons tried to limit shot attempts for Moore, who is one of the most prolific scorers in the nation, but the crafty lefty was efficient and deadly from everywhere on the court, shooting 14-of-20 from the field.”
“I think 20 shot-attempts is around his average, but 39 points on those 20 shots is pretty pathetic,” Alexander said.
Rob Marberry led the Bisons on the night with 26 points and 10 rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting. He also dished out four assists.
Joining Marberry in double-figures were senior Josh Williams (19), sophomore Garrison Mathews (12), and freshman Kenny Cooper. North Florida’s Wajid Aminu and Garrett Sams helped pace the Ospreys with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
The Bisons have already earned a home-court advantage in the first round of the conference tournament on February 27, but the rest of their postseason schedule will be determined by the final two conference games.
If seeding stays the same, Lipscomb would potentially have to face Moore and the Ospreys in the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun tournament as it attempts to clinch an NCAA tourney berth. Stopping Moore has proven to be a tall task this season.