You know what they say. “You can’t keep a good Bison down.”
The men’s basketball team left Tuesday’s tough loss to Belmont in the rear-view mirror, posting up an 86-62 victory in Allen Arena Saturday night against the now 3-7 UT Martin Skyhawks, another OVC opponent. The team evened out their record to 4-4 on the season.
The Bisons brought the heat early, eventually pulling their leading margin to eight about halfway through the first half. The Skyhawks started to push back a little, cutting the margin by five with about eight minutes before halftime. But not before the men’s team went on a roll.
By the half, the Bisons had a commanding 46-27 lead, closing out the first with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by senior Deonte Alexander.
The second half allowed for the Bisons to showcase plenty of blocked shots, staunch defense and even two dunks – courtesy of sophomore Martin Smith and freshman John Ross Glover. The team never yielded, closing out the game with a 24 point margin.
Martin Smith had a huge game for the Bisons with 22 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. He also went 9 for 9 from the free throw line.
Both Alexander and Glover had 13 points in the game, and Juniors Khion Sankey and Oscar Garcia each had 7 rebounds.
Glover said he feels tonight’s win showed the team’s resiliency.
“I think it’s good we bounced back,” Glover said. “That’s what we talked about as a team coming into the game. That’s just a sign of toughness.
“When [tough teams] get beat, they don’t stay beat. They get back up and they fight. They come back and respond like we did tonight.”
Glover said he feels that big plays, like his and Martin Smith’s dunks, helped drive key momentum for the Bisons in the second half.
“That’s what those are for, you know, flashy or whatever. It gives your team the momentum,” Glover said.
Next Saturday, the Bisons will enter Rupp Arena to play in the highly-anticipated match-up against the 2012 national championship winning Kentucky Wildcats.
Glover said the team is both looking forward to the game and preparing to leave Lexington with a win.
“We go up there to win. We go up as a team. We go to compete,” Glover said. “At the same time, it’s going to be a great experience. We’re going to try and appreciate that part of it, too. Not too many guys get that chance.
“Our mindset is to win and to play hard and tough, and to beat a really good Kentucky Wildcat basketball team. We believe we can.”
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics.