Saturday, February 25, 2012

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Lipscomb Bison utilized a strong second half shooting performance and dominated in the paint for a 74-71 victory at Kennesaw State Saturday.

Lipscomb shot 56.7 percent in the second half and 51.8 percent on the afternoon.  The Bison scored 44 points in the paint.

Kennesaw State (3-28, 0-18 A-Sun) took a 15-7 lead to open the contest.  The Bison (13-17, 8-10 A-Sun) hit seven of their next 11 shots embarking on a 17-6 run for a 24-21 at the 6:13 mark.  It was Lipscomb’s only lead of the first half.  Kennesaw State led 37-30 at the break.

Lipscomb made five layups and hit two 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the second half and went up 48-41 on a pair of free throws by senior Justin Glenn.

Glenn had dunks on the next two trips down the court but the Owls took a one-point lead after scoring on five straight possessions including hitting a pair of treys.

Freshman Martin Smith connected on a three-pointer with 9:21 left giving Lipscomb the 55-53 advantage. The Bison led the rest of the game.

Martin’s twin brother Malcolm made a pair of layups to put Lipscomb up six.  Malcolm scored 21 points for his third outing of the season with 20 or more points.  He was 7-of-14 from the floor and 7-of-9 at the free throw line.

The Bison were unable close out the Owls as they connected on four long balls in the final seven minutes, including a trey by Delbert Love with 46 ticks remaining to make it a 72-71 game.

After two free throws by Malcolm with 11.9 seconds left, Kennesaw State brought the ball up the floor for the final shot.  Markeith Cumming’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer rimmed out for the Bison victory.

Lipscomb led 36-31 in rebounding.  Malcolm Smith and Glenn had seven boards each.

The Bison were 6-of-18 from beyond the arc for 33.3 percent.  Kennesaw State was 11-of-29 for 37.9 percent.  Lipscomb hit 10-of-14 attempts from the charity line.

Lipscomb is the No. 7 seed in the 2012 Atlantic Sun Championship which runs Feb. 29 to Mar. 3 in Macon, Ga.  The Bison play tournament host and No. 2 seed Mercer Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. central.  The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and 102.5 The Game.