Bisons fall at Central Arkansas despite monster game from Asadullah

Sunday, January 9

Conway, AR

2:00 pm

Lipscomb University

8-9,1-1ASUN

Central Arkansas

5-10,2-0ASUN

Team	1	2	F
Lipscomb	45	43	88
Central Ark.	46	47	93

Bisons fall at Central Arkansas despite monster game from Asadullah

1/9/2022 5:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

CONWAY, Ark. – Lipscomb men's basketball saw its winning streak end Sunday afternoon with a 93-88 defeat at the hands of ASUN Conference newcomer Central Arkansas on the road.

The Bisons fall to 8-9 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Bears improve to 5-10 and 2-0.

Ahsan Asadullah looks to have returned from injury with a chip on his shoulder as the big man wreaked havoc inside the Farris Center with 32 points (15-20 FG), 11 rebounds and five assists.

It was Asadullah's second straight 30-point game after dropping 30 on North Alabama Tuesday in the league opener.

Four other Bisons joined the Asadullah in double figures – KJ Johnson (13), Will Pruitt (11), Parker Hazen (11) and Greg Jones (10).

FIRST HALF: Central Arkansas 46, Lipscomb 45

The start Sunday could not have been any better as the Bisons were awarded a free throw before the game officially tipped after UCA was whistled for a shot-clock violation in pregame warmups. Jones made it 1-0 before a tick on the clock.
Asadullah started the game hot with seven points in the first 5:30 to help Lipscomb build a 15-7 lead.
Hazen extended the lead to nine on his first field goal of the game minutes later.
Leading 21-13 after another bucket from Asadullah, UCA's Eddy Kayouloud got hot and scored 14 consecutive points to pull the Bears within one at 23-22 with 8:38 on the clock.
A 5-0 run from Central Arkansas gave the home team its first lead of the game at 32-28.
Trailing by six, the Bisons got back-to-back 3-pointers from Pruitt, including an and-one, to put Lipscomb back in front.
Jones buried his 3^rd triple of the day from just in front of the UCA bench to wrap up the first half, as the Bisons trailed 46-45 at the break.
Lipscomb shot 53 percent (17-32) in the half, hit four triples and connected on 7-of-9 free throws.
Asadullah led the Bisons with 12 points, followed by Pruitt's nine in the half.
UCA shot 56% on 19 of 34 field goals.

Picking up where he left off last week, @ahsanasadullah has 7? points and is orchestrating the offense with precision from the post??#IntoTheStorm?? | #HornsUp?? pic.twitter.com/k1Z0WM6dEw
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) January 9, 2022

SECOND HALF: Central Arkansas 47, Lipscomb 43

UCA continued to shoot it well in the second half, building a four-point advantage in the first three minutes.
Asadullah spearheaded an 8-0 run for the purple and gold over the next two minutes to grab back the lead at 57-53.
The attack continued under the 12-minute media where the Bisons pushed their lead to 11 (68-57) with an extended 19-4 run behind buckets from six different players.
Over the next seven minutes, the Bears connected on 9-of-12 shots, including five straight, to pull back within three at 86-83.
The Bears evened the game with a three-pointer and then added another a few seconds later to regain their lead.
Over the last two minutes, Lipscomb missed three of its last four shots, missed two free throws, turned the ball over once and was called for a technical.
The Bears closed the game on a 36-20 run over the last 11:40 to improve to 2-0 in the ASUN.
Lipscomb shot 56 percent in the second half (20-36), but went just 1-of-9 from deep and only got to the free throw line five times.
Central Arkansas shot 54 percent (19-35) and hit 7-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Asadullah scored 20 points and reeled in eight boards after halftime.
Johnson added 11 points, while Pruitt dished four assists.

FOUR defenders aren't enough to stop @ahsanasadullah ??

The big man is taking over...18 points, 5 boards, 4 assists.

We're tied at 53 | 16:15 remaining#IntoTheStorm?? | #HornsUp?? pic.twitter.com/J4H89JVZje
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) January 9, 2022

NOTES

Asadullah became the first Bison since Garrison Mathews in 2019 to score 30-plus points in back-to-back games. Mathews had 44 against NC State and 34 against Wichita State in the NIT.
Asadullah recorded his fifth double-double of the season and the 25^th of his career.
Johnson led the Bisons with seven assists while turning the ball over just once. It was his most assists since recording seven against SC State on November 11.
Five players scored double figures in a game for the first time this season.
Pruitt added five rebounds and five assists to his 11 points.
Hazen grabbed seven boards and dished four assists.
Jacob Ognacevic played limited minutes (14) and finished with eight points and three rebounds.
Lipscomb shot over 50% for the sixth time this season, including in back-to-back games for the second time.
The Bisons outrebounded the Bears 38-32, including 10 offensive boards.

FROM THE BENCH

?? "We had some good performances, but just couldn't get a stop. And at the end of the day, that ended up being the difference in the game." - @coachacuff #HornsUp?? pic.twitter.com/VT78t8FnoM
— Lipscomb Men's Basketball (@LipscombMBB) January 9, 2022

UP NEXT
Lipscomb makes a quick turnaround with another matchup with an ASUN newcomer as they travel to Jacksonville State for a 6 p.m. tip on Tuesday.