Asadullah grabs double-double as Bisons torch South Carolina State

Saturday, November 13

Charleston, SC

6:30 PM

Lipscomb University

2-1,0-0ASUN

South Carolina State

0-4,0-0MEAC

Team	1	2	F
South Carolina St.	48	33	81
Lipscomb	49	44	93

Asadullah grabs double-double as Bisons torch South Carolina State

11/14/2021 1:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Kirk Downs

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Lipscomb men's basketball team picked up its first win away from home Saturday night, downing South Carolina State, 93-81, inside TD Arena in the Rising Coaches Classic.

The Bisons battled the Bulldogs in the first half to a one-point game at the break, before hot shooting and a double-double performance from Ahsan Asadullah carried the purple and gold to victory.

Lipscomb was sharp from the floor all night, hitting 32-of-54 field goals for a 59-percent clip on 23 assists. Asadullah played a season low 26 minutes, but did he ever make those minutes count. The 6-9 big man reeled in his third straight double-double, and flirted with triple-double territory, with 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He went 9-of-16 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 on the line. Lipscomb was plus-20 when he was on the floor.

Jacob Ognacevic bounced back with 17 points in 19 minutes of action, finishing 6-of-7 from the floor. Greg Jones knocked down a game-high four triples (4-of-6) to record 16 points and four rebounds.

The Bisons fell behind early as South Carolina State made five of its first six field goal attempts to take a 10-4 lead, but back-to-back triples from Will Pruitt and Greg Jones pulled the score back even.

The Bulldogs then used runs of 7-0 and 4-0 to go back in front 29-24 with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half, but then it was Asadullah's time to take over.

The Atlanta native reeled off 10 consecutive points for the Bisons to spark a 12-1 run and put the purple and gold in front 41-32 at the 4:56 mark. A couple minutes later with Lipscomb in front by eight, the Bulldogs buried three straight three-pointers to retake the lead. Asadullah then hit a pair of free throws to send the Bisons into the locker room with a 49-48 lead. They never gave up the lead again.

The Bisons shot 61 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes, draining 17-of-29 field goal attempts. Asadullah dominated with 14 points, six boards and four assists in the half. Ognacevic also reached double figures with 11 points.

After the teams traded buckets early in the second half, the Bisons were able to extend their advantage to seven after a pair of buckets from freshman Quincy Clark and Ognacevic followed by two free throws from Tommy Murr. The Bulldogs, however tried to make a push with a 5-0 run to get it back to one possession. That's when Greg Jones got hot from deep. The Frisco, Texas native drained three 3-pointers in a three-minute span to spearhead a 15-2 run from the purple and gold to extend the lead to 83-68 with 4:20 remaining.

Following a trio of baskets from Parker Hazen and Asadullah, freshman Trae Benham knocked down four makes from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the 93-81 win.

NOTES

KJ Johnson scored nine points and helped orchestrate the offense with a career high nine assists.
Will Pruitt added seven points, six rebounds and three helpers. The Bisons were plus-23 when he was on the floor.
The team's 23 assists were the most since dishing the same total against Lamar last season in the season opener (Nov. 28, 2020).
Asadullah's seven assists were the most for him since recording 10 against SEMO last season on December 7, 2020. He reached seven or more assists in three games last season.
Parker Hazen went 3-for-3 from the field for eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Bisons won the battle of the boards 37-30 and outscored the Bulldogs 44-32 in the paint.
Lipscomb went 22-of-24 at the charity stripe and is shooting 81.4 percent as a team this season through three games (70-of-86).

FROM THE BENCH

?? Hear from @coachacuff as he recaps tonight's win over SC State on the road.#HornsUp?? pic.twitter.com/xRTQ5Jmydv
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) November 14, 2021