Lipscomb University
14-10, 8-5ASUN
Kennesaw State
4-17, 1-12ASUN
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennesaw State | 36 | 26 | 62 |
| Lipscomb | 35 | 41 | 76 |
Bisons cage Owls behind Asadullah's big night
2/19/2021 11:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The win moves the Bisons to 14-10 overall and 8-5 in the ASUN Conference, while the Owls fall to 4-17 and 1-12.
Ahsan Asadullah continued his torrid stretch with a fourth 20-point outing in the last five games. The junior center stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. He shot 9-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-5 at the free throw line in 33 minutes.
Tonight's @TarkHarwell Player of the Game was @ahsanasadullah after his 6th 20-point outing of the season. #HornsUp?? pic.twitter.com/ZalvxgyMDX
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) February 20, 2021
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the two sides traded baskets through the first media timeout, the Bisons organized a 13-0 run on the heels of a KJ Johnson drive and a Jake Wolfe triple to take a 19-8 lead at the 13:33 mark.
A little inside-outside action from @Light_bright_3 and @wakejolfe puts the mark on a 13-0 run.
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) February 20, 2021
Lipscomb 19, KSU 12 | 1H - 11:54 #HornsUp?? pic.twitter.com/Wll4aFkdtP
The visiting Owls ended the run on a Spencer Rodgers jumper and responded with a 12-0 spurt of its own to go in front 20-19.
Asadullah went to work to regain the advantage for the purple and gold with makes on three straight trips down the floor, before Johnson and Wolfe teamed up again, this time to drill back-to-back 3-pointers and take a 31-27 lead with six minutes to play in the half.
.@ahsanasadullah is taking over with 6? straight points at the cup.
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) February 20, 2021
Bisons back in front 25-22 | 1H - 7:49#HornsUp?? pic.twitter.com/QW1Wj6fCnO
??2??? triples from @Light_bright_3 and @wakejolfe gets us back in front!#HornsUp pic.twitter.com/6UJcO5Ff8S
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) February 20, 2021
Lipscomb went on to miss four of its next five shots, while KSU closed with a 7-2 run to take a 36-35 lead at the break. The Bisons turned the ball over 11 times in the period and shot just 23 percent from long range, hitting 3-of-13. It marked the third time in four games Lipscomb trailed at the half.
The home team blitzed the Owls out of the locker room with a 10-2 run and never looked back after regaining the advantage at 45-38.
Lipscomb made 8-of-10 shots to open the second half and eventually built an 11-point lead at the under-12 media timeout on a layup from Wolfe.
.@p_hazen buries a triple and @wakejolfe with a fancy finish at the rim.
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) February 20, 2021
Bisons leading 56-45 at the under-12 media timeout. #HornsUp ?? pic.twitter.com/nneD3TC1Qr
Back-to-back buckets from Parker Hazen and Romeao Ferguson was followed by a 3-pointer from Miles Miller for a 7-0 run, giving the Bisons their largest lead of the night at 63-46.
Romeao Ferguson is a problem in transition. He finishes on the break through the foul for @LipscombMBB.#HornsUp | @Flacko_rome pic.twitter.com/HVOdhSUO0I
— #ASUNMBB ?? (@ASUN_MBB) February 20, 2021
The Owls continued to fight as they strung together a 10-0 run and get it back to a 7-point game with just under seven minutes remaining.
Lipscomb responded with back-to-back buckets from Asadullah and seven points from Johnson to put Kennesaw State away and earn its eighth ASUN victory of the season. The Bisons turned the ball over just twice in the second half and outscored the Owls 22-8 from the paint while shooting 50 percent.
The defense clamped down on KSU and limited the visitors to a 30.8 percent clip after halftime.
FROM THE BENCH
Hear from @ahsanasadullah and @coachacuff following tonight's win over Kennesaw State to open the final home weekend of the season. #HornsUp ??https://t.co/B5NU0Me9eC
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) February 20, 2021
HERD NOTES
- The Bisons shot 46.7 percent overall (28-of-60), and drilled 14-of-18 at the stripe.
- Lipscomb outscored KSU 42-24 in the paint and 18-11 in second-chance points.
- Four Bisons finished in double figures with Johnson, Ferguson and Wolfe all joining Asadullah.
- Asadullah recorded his sixth 20-point game of the season and his fourth in five outings. He has now hauled in nine or more rebounds 11 times this season, including exactly nine in five of the last eight games.
- Johnson poured in 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting and a 4-of-4 clip at the line.
- Ferguson totaled 13 points and eight boards and two assists. The ASUN theft leader swiped three steals in the win.
- Wolfe added 12 points off the bench on 5-of-9 shooting.
- Hazen hauled in seven rebounds with seven points.
- Will Pruitt earned his second career start and played 25 minutes.
