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AHSAN ASADULLAH
77
Winner Lipscomb Lips 10-13,3-5 ASUN
74
North Florida UNF 5-17,1-7 ASUN
Winner
Lipscomb Lips
10-13,3-5 ASUN
77
Final
74
North Florida UNF
5-17,1-7 ASUN
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Lipscomb Lips 36 41 77
North Florida UNF 32 42 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Asadullah makes history in clutch road win at North Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Lipscomb men's basketball grinded out a hard-fought 77-74 road victory behind Ahsan Asadullah's history-making 7th double-double of the season to improve to 3-5 in the ASUN.
 
Four Lipscomb players finished with double-digits in Jacksonville for a true team win.
 
On Asadullah's third assist of the night, the big man out of Atlanta became the first player in ASUN Conference history to have 1400 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in a career.  He finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
   
 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Putting Thursday's loss in the review mirror, the Bisons (10-13, 3-5 ASUN) opened up Saturday's game strong, outscoring North Florida 9-4 in the opening four minutes. After falling behind on the first possession of the game, Will Pruitt drove to the basket to get Lipscomb's offense going.
 
Trae Benham followed on the next possession with a shifty shot fake and stepped around his defender to drain the Bisons' first triple of the night. Lipscomb's opening run continued with baskets by Pruitt and Ahsan Asadullah before the first media timeout.  
 
Out of the break, the Ospreys launched a 14-4 run aided by the three ball. UNF connected on three treys in five trips down the floor to take an 18-13 lead at the under 12 media timeout.
 
Even though Lipscomb was struggling to connect on the offensive end, the Bisons stepped things up defensively, holding UNF to just three points over the next five minutes to cut the lead 21-16.
 
The Bisons began to battle back when it started to click on the offensive end with the help of Asadullah in the post. An Asadullah bucket at the rim got the Bisons back within a possession and sparked a mini run. Pruitt followed Asadullah's bucket with a big triple and back-to-back baskets by the big man put Lipscomb back ahead 25-24 with 4:56 left in the half.
 
The squads traded punches before the final media timeout, but Lipscomb kept a 29-27 lead at the break. Coming out of the timeout, Benham drained back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Bisons out to a 35-27 lead. Asadullah scored Lipscomb's final point of the half from the charity stripe, but the Osprey's weren't done as Jose Placer connected on his fourth triple of the night at the halftime buzzer. Lipscomb still took a 36-32 into the halftime break.
 
 
After struggling from the floor in the first minutes of the game, the Bisons picked up the pace and finished the first half 42 percent from the floor and 44 percent from behind the arc.
 
Asadullah rebounded from his slow start and nearly had a double-double in the first half with 11 points and nine boards. Benham was also a spark in the Bisons' offensive motor with 11 points while Greg Jones was a problem for UNF defensively, notching a career-high five steals in the first 10 minutes.
 
Out of the locker room, UNF caught fire and went on a 14-5 run over the first four minutes to surge back in front 46-41. The Bisons never panicked and pulled back even (46-46) with five-straight. The pace was furious for the next several minutes as the squads traded buckets with high-octane offense on both ends of the floor, but the Bisons were able to keep a slight 55-53 edge when the whistle blew for the media timeout.
 
After both teams caught its breath, UNF retook the lead 57-55 as the Bisons missed on the first three possessions out of a timeout. KJ Johnson ended Lipscomb's drought with a strong drive to the rim, tying things back up 57-57. On the next trip up the court, Jacob Ognacevic converted a pair of free throws putting the purple and gold back on top 59-57 with 7:59 left in the matchup.
 
 
Ognacevic found Asadullah for an easy layup (61-57) for the next bucket of the game, giving Lipscomb a first glimpse of separation in the second half. The lead was short lived, however, as UNF responded with a few big trips down the floor, using an 8-5 run to retake a 66-65 lead heading into the final 3:48 of the game. 
 
Lipscomb responded once again by driving to the basket and drawing fouls. Asadullah and Jones were solid from the line, hitting four free throws to take a 69-66 lead. UNF scored on its next possession and the Bisons called a timeout with a 69-68 lead and 2:09 to go. Out of the break, Pruitt came up with a block and Parker Hazan converted on the offensive end for a 71-68 lead. Once again, UNF responded with a bucket, but the Bisons still hung on to a one-point lead with less than a minute remaining.
 
 
With 34 seconds left in the game, the Ospreys fouled Asadullah and Jones in back-to-back possessions. The pair connected on three of its four from the line for a 74-70 lead. North Florida continued to apply pressure, making two shots on its own charity stripe to pull within a pair with 9.1 seconds in regulation.
 
UNF continued to foul as Johnson was sent to the line with 8.6 seconds on the clock. He went 1-for-2 to keep Lipscomb in front by three. The squads traded fouls in the final five seconds of the game, but Jones was clutch, hitting two from the line with 4.3 seconds left, keeping the Bisons ahead by three. One final defensive stand was all Lipscomb needed as the Bisons secured their third ASUN win of the season defeating North Florida 77-74.




HERD NOTES
  • Lipscomb had four double-digit scorers for the 10th time this season.
  • Hazan and Benham both poured in double-digit performances with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Benham hit three of Lipscomb's five three-pointers.
  • Jones finished with a solid stat line and scored double-digits in his third-consecutive game. He finished with 10 points, a pair of assists and six rebounds. His six steals are the most by a Lipscomb player since 2018.
  • The Bisons outrebounded UNF 42-36 and outshot the Ospreys 41 percent to 38 percent.
  • Lipscomb grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, the most by a Bison team since February 3, 2018 versus NJIT.
 
 

FROM THE BENCH




UP NEXT
The Bisons will be back in action Thursday, Feb. 3 against Stetson in Allen Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7:15 p.m. CT.
 
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