by Jesica Parsley | Mar 3, 2015 | Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team is heading to the 2015 Atlantic Sun Conference semifinals after defeating Northern Kentucky 76-73 in overtime at the quarterfinals Tuesday night in Regents Hall. The Bisons led by three points in the last 14 seconds left in regulation with a chance to make the lead five at the free throw line. Both free throws were missed, but Northern Kentucky’s Tyler White hit a three to tie the game at 68, sending the game into overtime. White hit another three in overtime to put the Norse up 73-70. The Bisons responded with two free throws from sophomore guard J.C. Hampton and graduate student Chad Land, as well as a jumper from sophomore guard Josh Williams to seal the win. Senior forward Martin Smith led the way for the Bisons with 13 points. Williams added 12 points. Northern Kentucky finished with the overall record of 13-17. Lipscomb improved to 14-16. The Bisons advance to take on North Florida Thursday night in Jacksonville. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Danielle Kinnen | Feb 28, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb men’s basketball team closed out the 2014-15 season with a 94-75 win over Atlantic Sun Conference foe Kennesaw State Saturday morning in Allen Arena. With a solid start to the first half, the Bisons carried their attacking play with a 47-32 lead as sophomore J.C. Hampton executed a lay up. “I thought for the most part we were really solid — I was proud of their effort and I felt like we really played to win,” Lipscomb’s head coach Casey Alexander said. “We played together, which may sound simple, but things haven’t been going our way and sometimes that’s hard to do.” The Bisons controlled the game as sophomore Josh Williams finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists. “The team came together tonight more than we ever have done this season,” Williams said. “It was great to see a lot of guys contribute to this win. “Rebounding was on point tonight and the guys did really well with their offense but also defense.” Senior Martin Smith came out to the court with an ora of determination for senior night. Smith added 12 points onto the score board. Kennesaw State’s Yonel Brown led all scorers with a 22 points, along with a pair of treys and six free throws. The Bisons recognized graduate student Chad Lang and seniors Chad Johnson and Smith during a pregame ceremony. “It’s so weird that this is the night we wait for during these four years,” Smith said. “I am so grateful for my time here and it was a great game — kind of a bittersweet. I’m really looking forward to the...
by Sarah McGee | Jan 25, 2015 | News Slider, Sports
It was Star Wars night Saturday in Allen Arena, but the Force was not with the Bisons. Lipscomb lost 75-66 to North Florida, with first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference on the line. This game brought in over 3,000 fans — one of the largest crowds of the season. The Bisons entered the first half strong, with forward Malcolm Smith scoring the first goal of the game. The Bisons ended the first half with a 29-19 lead. “The first 20 minutes are easily the best 20 minutes we’ve played all year on both ends of the floor,” head coach Casey Alexander said. “We made very few mistakes in the first half.” In the second half, North Florida led by 13 points, sparked by 24 from Beau Beech in the second half. Beech led all scorers with 27 points. The Bisons did not go down easily, cutting the UNF lead to single figures. Guard Josh Williams led the team with 21 points. He has double figures in 21 of his last 22 games. “Josh is playing so hard,” Alexander said. “He wants the ball. He wants to be the guy and deliver.” Also in double figures for the Bisons were Smith with 13, followed by guard J.C. Hampton with 12 and forward Talbott Denny with 11. The men’s basketball team was 0-4 in the Atlantic Sun Conference at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season, but this year the team is 4-1 — the best conference start in the history of the program. “Nobody’s happy about the result by any stretch, but this loss is better than several of the wins we’ve...
by Gemikal Prude | Jan 22, 2015 | Sports
Lipscomb remained undefeated and tied for first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference with an 80-77 double-overtime win over Jacksonville Thursday night. Lipscomb was missing two of its usual starters, Nathan Moran and Brett Wishon, due to concussions. Head coach Casey Alexander recognized that the adjustments to the line-up were a challenge. “Facing a zone for 40 minutes without your two best shooters is definitely a challenge,” Alexander said. “But we found a way to get it done.” Allen Arena had quite the buzz, from both the increased number of fans and with the participation of the Hunters Lane High School band. The Dolphins went off with an onslaught of offense, due to the high amount of turnovers from the Bisons early in the first half. The Bisons finished the first half trailing 35-21. The Dolphins knocked down five three-pointers toward the end of the half and shot nearly 50% from the field. Lipscomb, on the other hand, hit only three three-pointers and shot a little over 30%. The beginning of the second half was a completely different story, with the Bisons going on a 11-3 run in the first five minutes, cutting the Jacksonville lead to five. As six minutes ran off the clock, both sides were scoring back and forth, and with under four minutes left, the Dolphins led 54-53. With 1:18 remaining in regulation, Lipscomb freshman guard Aaron Korn tied the game at 58 with a three-pointer. With 26 seconds left, junior Talbott Denny took a charge. J.C. Hampton took the last shot of the game, which resulted in a near make that sent the game into the first overtime. “I thought our energy was...
by Brianne Welch | Jan 13, 2015 | Sports
One missed free throw with less than a minute left to play could have changed the outcome, but when freshman Nathan Moran sank his second foul shot, the Bisons defense was able to hold off the Spartans until the final buzzer. Moran did not lead the Bisons in any category Tuesday night, but his presence on the court was felt in the final minutes of play. The freshman played 29 minutes of the game against USC Upstate, but had just seven points. In a game that saw 12 lead changes, it was Moran who scored one free throw to give the Bisons a two-point cushion with less than a minute to play. Moran missed his first shot, leaving the crowd deflated, but picked everyone back up as he sank the second shot. “It just felt like another free throw,” Moran said. “I mean, missing it didn’t feel like another free throw, but it was another free throw.” After the second shot, the Bisons played defense that drew no fouls in the final seconds, which gave the Spartans no free opportunities in the end. At half time the score was tied, 32 all, but the Spartans took an early lead and held it through the majority of the second half. Senior Malcolm Smith drew a foul on a layup that went in to put the Bisons back in the lead, 52-51. Smith drew several hard fouls in the second half of the game by being aggressive against a tough Spartan defense. Junior Talbott Denny also played aggressively in the second half. Moran talked about how much he has benefitted from playing with these older teammates. “It’s...
