NASHVILLE – The adage coaches use all too often is the desire to have their teams playing their best near the end of a season.

Such is the case for the Lipscomb Bisons, a 64-54 winner over Florida Gulf Coast in an ASUN contest at Allen Arena Saturday afternoon.

The Bisons, 12-14, 7-6 in the ASUN, won for the fourth straight time, their longest streak of the season. FGCU slips to 8-20, 5-8 in the conference. The Eagles have lost four of their last five  games.

“We are getting better,” Lipscomb coach Lennie Acuff said. “We are still making progress. We still have a long way to go.

“We have won five of the last six and the one game we lost by two points. We have really good kids who continue to work. I am really thankful them.”

Acuff gives the credit to his players for never allowing themselves to think their season was over. Such a team attitude is the main reason for the late season resurgence.

“It is hard if you have kids who have quit on you,” Acuff said. “Our kids have never quit. They come to practice every day.

“We lost a heart-breaker two weeks ago today to Stetson (55-53). Our kids answered the bell right away and came back with a good practice on Monday after the game.”

FGCU opened with an 8-2 lead, but the advantage was short lived. With 15:02 left in the first half the Bisons took the lead 9-8 on a three-pointer by Greg Jones and never looked back.

At halftime the Bisons were ahead 32-21.

With 11:06 remaining in the second half the Bisons led by 20, their largest margin of the game.

Jones scored a career and game high 24 points, hitting four of seven three-point attempts and a perfect six-of-six at the free throw line. Ahsan Asadullah added  17 points a game-high 11 rebounds. Miles Miller pitched in with 11 points.

“Once I knocked down a couple in the first half, I was feeling it a little bit,” Jones said. “Coach set up a couple of plays for me to get some more shots.

“It felt good. I was thankful I could knock them down.”

Despite placing three players in double figures Acuff pointed to defense as the  key for the Bisons  domination of FGCU.

“I thought we guarded well…we played well defensively at times,” Acuff said. “And FGCU had a rough day. They missed a lot of shots around the goal and has some turnovers.

“We continue to improve as a defensive team. We  weren’t guarding really well the first time through the league but the second time through we have gotten better.”

The Bisons have rebounded from an 8-14 record, 3-6 in the ASUN to put themselves in position to where if the season had ended this weekend,  they would host a  tournament game.

“I am really proud of our guys turning it around,” Acuff said. “We are in good shape. We are making progress as a team. We just have to keep going.”

HERD NOTES:

• It was a special day in many ways for the fans at Allen Arena. During the second half of the men’s game parents were honored during “Adoption Day”. It was also “Star Wars’ day. In addition, former Lipscomb star Garrison Mathews, now playing for the NBA’s Washington Wizards, was also present.
• Asadullah has 11 double-double games in points and rebounds. He grabbed more than 10 rebounds for the 12th time this season.
• The Bisons are 15-11 overall against FGCU. They lost 68-61 to the Eagles in Fort Myers on Feb. 4.

UP NEXT:

The Bisons head to Florida for a pair of games facing Jacksonville Feb. 20 at 6  and then visit North Florida for a 4 p.m. game Feb. 22.

“Our finish is brutal with Jacksonville and North Florida on the road and Liberty here,” Acuff  said. “We have the toughest finish in the league for sure. We have our work cut out for us.”