FLORENCE, Ala. - The Lipscomb men's basketball team went on the road and defeated North Alabama 73-71 in an ASUN battle Thursday night inside Flowers Hall. The Bisons built a 10-point lead in the first half and made a number of big baskets in the final minutes to secure the win.

The win improved Lipscomb to 9-14 overall and 4-6 in league play, while UNA dropped to 11-12 and 5-5.

“Road wins are hard to come by,” head coach Lennie Acuff said. “They (UNA) got two good shots at the end, and we missed some point-blank layups and free throws, but when you go on the road you aren’t worried about artistic impression, you are just trying to figure out a way to win the game.

“I was real proud of our guys as they kept fighting and hanging in there. It was a good win for our team.”

Sophomore Ahsan Asadullah led four players in double figures with 19 points, while also grabbing 14 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double.

“I wouldn’t take anyone else for Ahsan,” Acuff said. “Tonight whenever we needed a bucket, he went and got one for us.”

Freshman point guard KJ Johnson scored all 15 of his points in the first half. Senior guard Andrew Fleming added 13 points and sophomore guard Greg Jones chipped in 10.

With the first 10 minutes of action going back-and-forth and neither side establishing itself, Acuff turned to Johnson off the bench to get the offense going. The crafty lefty provided the spark the Bisons needed as he made his first two buckets and assisted on another to help build an 18-13 lead at the under-eight media timeout.

After getting a quick breather, Johnson checked back in and closed the half white hot. Sparked by three straight tough-driving layups, he went on to score 11 of the next 17 points and assisted on triples from Michael Buckland and Greg Jones. The spurt doubled the lead for Lipscomb and sent the Bisons into the half leading 39-29.

“KJ was fantastic in the first half and I really thought he played well,” Acuff said. “We thought bringing him off the bench would give him some relief and tonight I thought it did. He played really hard tonight.”

Whatever momentum the Purple and Gold had entering the locker room quickly evaporated in the first five minutes of the second half. The Lions forced four Lipscomb turnovers and scored off of each while building a 15-5 run to erase the Bisons lead before eventually taking a four-point lead a few minutes later.

Buckland buried a three-pointer from the left wing and Asadullah scored six consecutive points with just under eight minutes on the clock to put Lipscomb back on top for good. Down the stretch, the Bisons rode Asadullah in the paint and got two huge threes from Fleming to stave off UNA.

With under a minute remaining and Lipscomb on top by four, the Lions’ James Anderson nailed a three to cut the lead to one. After a free throw from Fleming gave Lipscomb a 73-71 advantage with 23 seconds to play, the Lions had a couple of chances but a turnover under their own basket and a mid-court heave at the buzzer sailed wide to secure the win for the Bisons.

“We’ve lost so many close games this season and our season would look a lot different if we had found a way to win some of those,” Acuff said. “So it made tonight that more important, especially after they beat us at our place last month.” 

HERD NOTES

• Lipscomb improved to 3-1 all-time against UNA, including a 2-0 mark in Florence.
• The Bisons hit 30-of-67 shots overall for a 44.8 percent clip and knocked down 10-of-24 from deep (41.7%).
• UNA shot 42.4 percent after making 28-of-66 field goals. The Bisons defense held the Lions to just 27.3 percent shooting from deep (6-of-22).
• North Alabama outrebouned Lipscomb 45-43, including 13-11 on the offensive end.
• The Bisons outscored the Lions 23-11 off the bench, led by Johnson’s 15.
• Asadullah recorded his fourth-straight double-double and his ninth of the season after hitting 9-of-14 field goals in 26 minutes of action. He narrowly missed his sixth 20-point game of the season and led the team with four assists.
• The big man has averaged 15.3 rebounds over the last three games, the best stretch of his career.
• Parker Hazen scored eight points and grabbed six boards while dishing three assists.
• Buckland also notched eight points in 37 minutes. The High Point, North Carolina native also contributed six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Greg Jones finished second on the squad with a career-high seven rebounds.

UP NEXT

Lipscomb continues its road trip on Saturday with a 3:30 p.m. (CT) tip at Kennesaw State.