Bison hoops defeat Northern Kentucky in A-Sun quarterfinals

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...

Bison hoops finish strong against Kennesaw State on senior night

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...

Bisons fall to Atlantic Sun Conference leader FGCU

The Bisons fell 76-74 to Atlantic Sun Conference leader FGCU Saturday afternoon in Allen Arena. Senior forward Malcolm Smith led the team, scoring 23 points with six rebounds. Sophomore guard Josh Williams battled through an injury in the first half, but added 15 points to the game. Freshman George Brammeier made a career-best, scoring six points and making four rebounds. At halftime, the Eagles were leading with 34-30. The Bisons shot 38.5 percent in the first half and reached 46.4 percent in the last 20 minutes of the game. Jamail Jones led FGCU with 24 points and Brett Comer added a double-double for the Eagles with an 11-point, 10-assist night. The Bisons will be on the road for the next three games but will return to Allen Arena to take on Kennesaw State on Saturday, Feb. 28. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Bisons advance with fifth conference win over Stetson

The Lipscomb mens basketball team recorded its fifth conference win over the Stetson Hatters with 87-85 on Thursday night in Allen Arena. The slow starting game began as both teams struggled to establish any momentum. After the media timeout the Bisons began to find their feet and gained an assertive lead 43-27 just eight minutes later. The Bisons were able to turn the tables from two weeks earlier, where they found themselves under the pump in the reverse fixture on Jan. 31. The team entered intermission holding a substantial lead 51-37. Lipscomb was en route to a season-best with 51 points at halftime. That gave the Purple and Gold a 14-point cushion at the break, something the Bisons would need as the Hatters would outscore them 48-36 in the final 20 minutes of action. “We need to limit our turnovers, and take better shots,” senior forward Malcolm Smith said. “We have been struggling on defense and I would say that’s something we need to work on going into the next few games.” Smith led Lipscomb with 29 points. Sophomore guard Josh Williams followed just behind with 25 points. “We’ll take the win, but we need to make improvements to make some noise in the conference tournament,” Malcolm said. In previous games, the Bisons have had issues with their offense and defense, but the topic for this game was the team’s poor turnover against the Hatters. “It was almost [a] carbon copy of that previous game, [but] this time it turned out differently,” head coach Casey Alexander said. “It was almost the same game which adds to the frustration.” In this case...

Bisons struggle during second half in loss to North Florida

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...