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 conclude non-conference play with two wins

The Lady Bisons broke their three game losing streak while the men’s team bounced back with a win after losing to Missouri. Against Trevecca, the game was a tale of two halves. The Lady Bisons were down 39-34 at half time before coming out with a strong effort in the second half. At just over 16 minutes, Lipscomb took a 47-41 lead and kept it the rest of the game. “We came out flat in the first half. It’s the first day back to classes, and we just weren’t ready to play in the first half,” head coach Greg Brown said. “I told them to forget the first half, make the adjustments and go, and I thought they played with a lot more intensity in the second half.”  The Lady Bisons had a strong offensive game in the second half that was led by senior Danay Fothergill. Fothergill had 26 points on the game and made shots from the paint as well as the three point line. Brown said that even though he’s happy with the win, his team needs to come out strong for all 40 minutes of conference games, not just the second half. “We told them to treat this game like it’s the first game of conference,” Brown said. “Hopefully it teaches them that that’s a great 20 minutes, but in the conference, these next games, you can’t afford to do that.” The Lady Bisons shot their best field goal percentage of the season against Trevecca. At the end of the game, the team had shot 54.1 percent from the field. Lipscomb came away with the 95-71 win improving their...

Bruins defeat Bisons in thrilling ‘Battle’

For the second time in only a week the Lipscomb Bisons have fallen to their Battle of the Boulevard rival Belmont Bruins, this time by a score of 82-77. The 136th edition of the ‘Battle’ had a familiar feeling as the Bruins came out with a victory for the seventh iteration in a row, albeit by a much closer margin than this season’s first matchup. “I’m proud of our players,” Lipscomb head coach Casey Alexander said.” “[They showed] a lot of persistence, and real great effort to battle back like that.” Seniors Malcolm and Martin Smith kept the Bisons in the game in the final moments. Both finished with 21 points on the night. Malcolm Smith tied Talbott Denny for a team leading 6 rebounds and notched 3 assists as well. “They’re [Martin and Malcolm Smith] seniors and they’re both thousand-point scorers.” Alexander said, “That’s what they’ve proven they can do. They have to keep doing it.” Clutch free throws from junior Craig Bradshaw down the stretch helped secure the victory for the Bruins. Bradshaw scored 29 points in the game, a new career high, and went 5-7 from downtown. He also collected 5 rebounds and 4 assists. “He was their best player down the stretch last year,” Alexander said about Bradshaw, “He’s had some unbelievable games, and he killed us when he had to kill us.” A back-breaking three-pointer from junior Jeff Laidig started the Bruins on a devastating 14-0 run in the waning moments of the first half. Laidig’s basket, which came directly after Lipscomb’s Malcolm Smith had tied the game at 27, crippled any momentum the...

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...