by Aaron Schmelzer | Jan 7, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
While most of Lipscomb’s campus had their scarves bundled around their necks to stay warm in Monday’s frigid weather, the men’s basketball team was neck-and-neck with the Jacksonville University Dolphins on Monday night in Allen Arena. The Bisons fell to the Dolphins in the closing seconds to lose 88-85. Redshirt freshman point guard J.C. Hampton’s three point attempt was tipped and misdirected, and time ran out as the teams chased the rebound. Although Lipscomb came up short, three players for the Bisons scored in the double digits. Freshman Josh Williams had his first career start on Monday. The guard from Jackson, Miss., scored 28 points to lead the team and collected nine rebounds. “It was a great honor to start. I just took the opportunity to step up and do what the team needed,” said Williams, who went 50-percent from the arc and made all of his free throws. Hampton put up 19 points, and sophomore guard J.J. Butler rounded out the double-digit scoring with 13 points. Jacksonville’s field shooting led them to victory, knocking down 15-for-25 in the second half while the Bisons shot 15-for-32. The Bisons and Dolphins also combined for 27 total turnovers for the game. Jacksonville took advantage of the Bisons’ turnovers, scoring 16 points from the changes in possession. The Bisons travel to ETSU on Jan. 9 for their next matchup. Game Notes: Jacksonville scored four points off of fast breaks, while the Bisons had none. Both teams shot 80-percent from the free throw line. Photo credit: Erin...
by Cory Woodroof | Oct 31, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
The Casey Alexander era of men’s basketball offered a sampling of what’s to come in Allen Area Thursday night as the Bisons posted up a 95-83 exhibition win over the visiting Freed-Hardeman Lions. The Bisons and Lions’ pre-season match-up truly defined the phrase “back-and-forth,” as most of the game was a power struggle to see who could hold on to their low-margin lead. For most of the first half, Freed Hardeman had a small leg up on the Bisons, but Lipscomb managed to use the final minutes effectively to enter halftime with a 50-45 lead over the Lions. The second half quickly began to mirror the first, and it wasn’t until junior Martin Smith got hot from the arch (sinking four 3-pointers) that the Bisons truly began to run away with the game. Martin Smith led the Bisons in scoring with 23, while redshirt freshman J.C. Hampton had 20. Sophomore J.J. Butler led the team in assists with 7, while junior Malcom Smith topped rebounds with 7. He also had 14 points on the night. Hampton expressed his enthusiasm in the team returning to the court for the season. “It just felt good being back out with the team, playing hard,” Hampton said. He credited the team’s defensive play for helping lift the team in the second half. Next week presents a new challenge for the Bisons as the annual Battle of the Boulevard makes it way to Lipscomb’s campus to open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 8. Hampton says that the team will need to continue to focus on defense as the Bruins await. Check below for...
by Carter Sanderson | Jun 21, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Things look to be heading in the right direction for the men’s basketball team after the program underwent a few major changes in the early off-season. The team has been on campus since late May after having spent a majority of the month away. Many team members went home to enjoy some time off, but all arrived safely. During the process of finding a new coach, several of the guys on the team decided to make a change. The Bisons lost three players, one of them being Stephen Hurt, last year’s A-Sun freshman of the year. The program also lost several of the new recruits who had intentions on coming to play for the men’s team this fall. “We’ve lost some players along the way and a lot of the incoming freshman have gone other ways, but I honestly like only having one new guy,” sophomore guard J.J. Butler said. “I think it’s going to be good for majority of the team to have played together once before as we head into this new season.” As they dive into June and prepare for what lies ahead, the guys are full of energy and excited to commence team activities. The team had to report back to campus for physicals on Tuesday night, May 28, and workouts started the next day. They are allowed two hours a week by the NCAA to have an official team practice. The team plan to lift three times a week, condition the other two days, take advantage of the two hours given and stay on top of their business in the classroom. “It’s nice to...
by Cory Woodroof | May 19, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb formally introduced Casey Alexander to the community as the new coach of the men’s basketball team Sunday afternoon at the Ezell Center. The university officially confirmed Alexander’s hire Saturday evening. Alexander was a former Belmont Bruin player and coach who has spent the past two seasons coaching at Stetson. Lipscomb Athletic Director Philip Hutcheson kicked off the event, talking about the process of hiring a coach. Hutcheson said that when looking for a coach, “what we care about here is excellence, and what we care about are people who are connected and committed to what the mission of Lipscomb is about.” The selection committee, consisting of Hutcheson, Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Student Life Scott McDowell and women’s basketball coach Greg Brown, interviewed a number of candidates who were interested in the vacant position. Former coach Scott Sanderson resigned in April. Hutcheson praised the quality of the candidate that applied for the job, but said that the committee decided that Alexander was the best for the program. “There was one guy whose name rose to the top, and he contacted me very early on about the job and said he was interested,” Hutcheson said. Hutcheson said he had conversations with people close to both Lipscomb and Alexander who reassured him of what a good coach and person Alexander was. In an early conversation with Alexander, Hutcheson said he was impressed with the candidate’s vision for the school after being asked why he was interested in the coaching position. “[Alexander] said ‘I want to be at a place that still values the Christian mission that Lipscomb...
by Michael Fox | Oct 29, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
With “brotherhood” as their mantra, the fresh crop of Lipscomb Bisons focuses on getting to know each other while tuning up for the historic Battle of the Boulevard rivalry Nov. 9. “That’s a pretty big game,” sophomore forward Martin Smith said. “It’s the first game of the season, and everyone is really looking forward to that–getting hype–and we’ll be ready for it.” The 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 tipoff at Allen Arena will begin the game that is for the first time a non-conference matchup. Belmont left the Atlantic Sun this past year to join the Ohio Valley Conference. Nine new players have joined the squad, and coach Scott Sanderson said he knows that the focus of practices will be coming together internally as one group of players. “Right now we are more focused on what we’re doing,” he said, adding that what concerns him most is “our day-to-day process, our day-to-day work ethic, you know, how we are paying attention to detail and getting ourselves better individually to help our team get better.” Key additions to the team are: junior Khion Sankey from Stockton, Calif.; freshman John Ross Glover from Jackson, Tenn.; junior Oscar Garcia from El Paso, Texas; freshman J. J. Butler from Abingdon, Md., freshman Dylan Greene from Anaheim Hills, Calif.; and freshman Stephen Hurt from Murfreesboro, Tenn. With so many new faces, the Bisons are keying on the word “brotherhood” as their team motto. “I think when you look at our team currently, they’ve really come together as a brotherhood,” said Assistant Coach Pete Froedden. “They actually came up with that term brotherhood, and that’s something...
