by Russell Vannozzi | Apr 5, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb senior Garrison Mathews has accepted an invite to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a four-day showcase in front of NBA scouts. Coach Casey Alexander confirmed the news at the team’s welcome home ceremony outside Allen Arena Friday afternoon. “It’s well-deserved,” Alexander said. “That’s the opportunity that will lead to his professional career and what kind of looks that he gets.” Mathews finished the season averaging 20.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He earned ASUN Player of the Year Honors and broke the school’s Division I scoring record with 2,480 career points. The Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational was established in 1953 to allow the nation’s 64 best college seniors a chance to showcase their skills in a 12-game tournament. All 30 NBA teams will have representatives at the tournament, which is slated for April 17-20 at the Churchland High School Sports Complex. Mathews is not currently listed in any NBA mock drafts. But he averaged 26 points per game in the NIT and likely turned heads with his 44-point outing at NC State and his 34-point performance against Wichita State in Madison Square Garden. “You go back-to-back games against NC State and Wichita State with 78 [combined] points…I think he probably got some people’s attention,” Alexander said. Only two Lipscomb players have ever been selected in the NBA Draft, and both came when the draft had more rounds. The 2019 draft consists of just two rounds and 60 overall picks. No former Bisons have ever appeared in an NBA game, so Mathews has a chance to become the first. Ron Rippitoe became the school’s first player selected in the draft...
by Hunter Patterson | Feb 2, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
One of the more memorable games of Don Meyer’s tenure was the 1990 Battle of the Boulevard held in Memorial Gymnasium on Vanderbilt’s campus. Before I dive into the game, let’s take a look back at what Chip Johnson wrote in the Feb. 16th edition of the Babbler leading up to the game. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the number on team in the nation, The Lipscomb University Bisons.” The top ranked Bisons who now stand at 32-4 overall and 14-0 in the TCAC, face their toughest rival Saturday night in a game that is projected to break the attendance record for any NAIA game ever. Entering the game, the Bisons of Lipscomb University and the Rebels of Belmont College were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the TCAC and No. 1 and No. 9 in the nation. That year, the Bison had already played Belmont four times, going 3-1 in those contests. The Bisons were also riding a 15-game winning streak going into the biggest Battle of the Boulevard game in the rivalry’s history. During that streak, Marcus Bodie broke the NAIA record for most steals in a season. Jerry Meyer also broke the Lipscomb record for steals in a season. The span also allowed Hutcheson to work his way up to the number two and three spots on the all-time-scoring list. Everyone was getting up for this game – sports writers, students, die hard fans, casual fans…everyone. Also present was Rick Byrd’s red sweater vest. (Yes, he wore it in 1990, too.) Leading up to the game, the Babbler staff talked to some of those reporters and...
by Hunter Patterson | Feb 2, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
The 1980s and 90s were years to remember for the Bisons. The team won its first NAIA National Championship in 1986 behind performances from the likes of Greg Caudle, Anthony Jones and Tom Kelsey. In 1990, the team played in front an NAIA record of 15,400+ at Memorial Gym. The Bisons won that game, too, 124-107 against Belmont. During that time, Lipscomb players also broke records. Philip Hutcheson broke the college basketball scoring record with 4,106 points, which stood until another Bison broke his record four years later. John Pierce, the only fitting successor to Hutch, broke his record four years later with 4230 points. Also, Jerry Meyer held the college basketball record for assists in a career. His teammate Darren Henrie holds the Lipscomb University record for most blocked shots with 273 career blocked shots, holds the university record for blocked shots in a season with 87, the record for dunks with 141 during his career as a Bison and the record for dunks in a single season with 61 dunks. Not to be outdone, Marcus Bodie is the all-time steals leader in college basketball with 440 over his career. Bodie averaged three steals per game over 148 games. After watching Darren Henrie come within 10 three-pointers of college basketball’s all-time record, Andy McQueen set his sights on taking care of some unfinished business. McQueen was deadly from behind the three-point line, hitting 112 as a freshman, 143 as a sophomore, 124 as a junior, and 136 his final season. McQueen would finish with 515 career three-pointers to break college basketball’s all-time record of 467 held by Bill...
