The Bisosn were ready to give the Kentucky Wildcats a fight – and for a good portion of the game – that’s exactly what they did.
Unfortunately, the men’s basketball team (4-5) came up short in a hard-fought battle with the Wildcats (7-3), losing 88-50 at the historic Rupp Arena.
Today’s game saw the team playing in front of 21,323 spectators (the biggest crowd to ever attend a game the men’s team was a part of). The Bisons were battling a nationally ranked team (no. 22) that had members of a squad that won the national championship this past April.
After Kentucky got the tip, the Bisons and Wildcats went back and forth until around the halfway point in the first half when Kentucky started to widen their margin. Sophomore Martin Smith had three key 3-point shots that helped the Bisons keep the Wildcats on their feet. At the half, Lipscomb trailed the Cats 43-29.
After the strong 4-0 run by Lipscomb to start the second, the Wildcats pulled ahead, turning a 12 point lead into a dominant run that sealed their seventh win of the season.
Martin Smith had a strong outing for the Bisons with 18 points and 5 rebounds (including a 3-4 3-pt. rate). Freshman Stephen Hurt had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Junior Khion Sankey said he believes that the Bisons must work on playing through adverse situations.
“We’ve just got to play harder,” Sankey said. “We’ve got to play through adversity.”
After today, the Bisons look to rebound against Austin Peay in Clarksville on Tuesday night, followed by another road game, a rematch of last year’s game with Memphis, on Thursday. Conference play begins on New Year’s Eve in Jacksonville against North Florida.
Sankey said he hopes that today’s game and future match-ups will help the Bisons build momentum for conference play.
“Anytime we play a game, it’s momentum,” Sankey said. “You’ve just got to keep fighting. You’ve got to compete.”