Lipscomb falls to Belmont in Battle of the Boulevard 73-67

Lipscomb falls to Belmont in Battle of the Boulevard 73-67

The first meeting of the season between Belmont and Lipscomb was everything fans could expect and more between the closest rivalry in NCAA Division I basketball. The energy was electric in Allen Arena during the hard-fought battle, but Lipscomb came up just short losing 73-67 to the Bruins. “We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we sure played hard,” says head coach Lennie Acuff. “We got down pretty good in the second half and was short-handed the last 10 minutes, but our guys kept fighting, clawing and scraping their way to stay in it,”. This was the first time Casey Alexander returned to Allen Arena for a game after taking the head coach position at Belmont. Alexander was the head coach at Lipscomb for six seasons leading the team to an NCAA Tournament appearance and an NIT Finals appearance just last year. “Belmont is a good team and they’ve been playing fantastic, but we had a chance tonight and that’s all we wanted at the end. I was really, really proud of our guy,” says Acuff. Lipscomb entered halftime up by one, 33-32, after going on a 10-0 and a 12-5 run at the end of the first half. The Bruins came out of halftime looking for revenge. The bruins had a 12-0 run at the beginning of the second half. Once Belmont took the lead, they never looked back. “We have the ball twice down four in the last minute and we didn’t get very good shots,” says Acuff. “I have to do a better job of getting us organized down the stretch. We just got a...
Belmont takes down Lipscomb men’s soccer 2-0 in season opener

Belmont takes down Lipscomb men’s soccer 2-0 in season opener

The Lipscomb men’s soccer team took a 2-0 loss to Belmont in the season opener this Friday night at Rose Park. Sophomore Rashad Hyacenth scored the first goal on a free kick for the Belmont Bruins in the ninth minute. Hyacenth scored his second goal of the match in the 78th minute. “Hyacenth did a great job of finding the ball throughout the game,” Lipscomb head coach Charles Morrow said. Morrow also said he was was very impressed with Belmont’s defense. “They have eleven guys that are committed to playing a strong defense,” Morrow said. “We had a lot of the ball, but we struggled to break Belmont down defensively.” Morrow said that his team is working with many injuries but expects to get better as the season progresses. Lipscomb will return to action this Sunday for the home opener against Eastern Illinois. The game will begin at 6 p.m. at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex. Photo by Sam...

Bisons fall to Bruins in season’s first Battle of the Boulevard

In the 135th iteration of the Battle of the Boulevard, the Bisons lost to their same-street rival Belmont for the sixth consecutive time 87-62. Sophomore Josh Williams was one of the few bright spots for the Bisons. He scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds. The Bruins started off the game scorching with a pair of quick baskets from Junior Craig Bradshaw and Senior Reece Chamberlain in front of the raucous Lipscomb crowd. The baskets helped spark a 19-5 to begin the game for Belmont. By the halfway point of the first half, the Bisons cut the lead down to single digits, 24-16 thanks to the trio of senior Martin Smith, sophomore J.C. Hampton and Williams. In what was a game of streaks, the Bruins responded with another hot streak of their own. Belmont held a commanding 40-26 lead with less than three minutes left to play before halftime. “When we go on a run, it just takes one simple thing like a missed rotation or a breakdown just to stop the run,” Smith said, “We just got to get the little things right.” Smith scored surpassed 1,000 points for his career on the night, joining his brother Malcolm who surpassed the milestone in the 2014 Atlantic Sun Tournament. “It feels pretty good, wish we could’ve got the win though.” Smith said. Had it not been for a pair of three point plays, one traditional and one the hard way, from Williams and another three from freshman Nate Moran in the final moments of the half, the halftime deficit may have been insurmountable. The Bisons, however, only trailed by...
Coach Don Meyer leaves behind legacy of character

Coach Don Meyer leaves behind legacy of character

Coach Don Meyer’s legacy is the way he spent his life. “I think that’s the reason why that we’re put here on the Earth is to try to help folks and to show that servant leadership and show Christ, and that was everything that Coach [Meyer] was about,” said one of his former players and coaches, Freed-Hardeman head coach Jason Shelton. Meyer, long-time coach of the Bisons and a college basketball icon, died today at age 69. Those who learned from and admired Coach Meyer spent time reflecting on how his life, not just his coaching, affected them. Meyer ends a long battle with cancer, stemming from a 2008 diagnosis that came after a serious car accident that claimed one of his legs. He was at home in Aberdeen, South Dakota, receiving hospice care at the time of his passing. A celebration of life for Meyer will be held in Allen Arena honoring Meyer’s life at 2 p.m. on June 1. A similar service will be held in South Dakota on Saturday at Northern State University. At an Athlete Leadership Chapel held in October 2012, Meyer spoke to a crowd of Bisons and Lady Bisons about a myriad of important subjects – character being one of them. “Character is really important,” Meyer said during his lesson. “Character is important in everything you do.” Meyer lived a life of iridescent character – the kind of character that Jesus taught people to have. The kind of character that showed on the court, in the locker room, at practice and at basketball camps. The kind of character that made him a beloved coach, mentor...

Bisons struggle to come back against rival Belmont

The Lipscomb baseball team lost the second game of the Battle of the Boulevard 13-3 Tuesday night at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville.  The Bruins scored eight runs in the first two innings, and Lipscomb did not get on the board until the third inning. Lipscomb head coach Jeff Forehand told athletics that the Bisons struggled to come back after the rough start. “When you get down early in the game, it’s deflating for the whole team,” Forehead said.  “We got off to a bad start and nobody is trying to figure it out any quicker than the players and the coaching staff.” Redshirt sophomore infielder Adam Lee got an infield single in the third to start things. Junior infielder Mike Kote hit a triple to score Lee. Redshirt junior outfielder Josh Lee hit a sacrifice fly to score Korte. Lipscomb would score one more run in the fifth off an RBI single from freshman infielder Hunter Hanks. Hanks went 2-for-4 at the plate. Adam Lee went 2-for-3. Belmont’s junior infielder Matt Beaty earned six RBIs with a triple that plated two runs as well as a three run homerun. Junior Chase Cunningham got the win for the Bruins giving up two earned runs and two hits. Redshirt freshman Dalton Curtis took the loss for the Bisons giving up five earned runs and three hits. Curtis’ record falls to 0-3. The Bisons struggled scoring runners in scoring position leaving nine runners on base throughout the game. “We got the two runs in the third and had the chance to have a really big inning there but we didn’t,” Forehand...