Final Score - Lipscomb: 77, Belmont: 75
Location - Nashville, Tenn. (Allen Arena)
Records - Lipscomb: 2-1, Belmont: 1-2
THE SHORT STORY
Lipscomb grinded out a two-point 77-75 victory, to improve to 2-1, on a last second shot behind
Trae Benham's 21 points at Allen Arena.
Jacob Ognacevic was the hero of the night with the winning bucket for the Bisons.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first points of the game came from the Bisons with a
Trae Benham three-pointer to electrify the strong Lipscomb crowd.
Belmont, however, punched back with a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the night.
The Bisons dug in and Benham stopped the run with a bucket and Lipscomb continued on a 7-2 run, capped off by an Ognacevic dribble-drive to the basket for a 12-9 Lipscomb lead.
The game continued to be defined by runs with Belmont going on an 8-2 run to retake a 17-14 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the first half.
The squads continued to battle it out, trading buckets for the next several minutes and Lipscomb pulled back within a point, 22-21, at the under-eight media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Benham nailed a long jumper to put Lipscomb back ahead 24-23. Lipscomb continued to click on the offensive end with
Matt Schner leading the charge. His 13th points of the half gave Lipscomb a 31-30 lead with just over three minutes in the first frame.
Ognacevic and
AJ McGinnis hit buckets in the final minute and a half to keep the Lipscomb charge and the Bisons took a 37-34 advantage into the halftime locker room.
After halftime, Belmont went on a 12-2 run to open up a 46-39 lead, its largest of the night.
Belmont got out to a 10-point lead, but Benham hit his second triple of the night to get Belmont back within seven. On the other end of the floor, the Bisons got a stop and
Derrin Boyd cashed in with a jumper on the other end to shave the lead 49-54.
Benham continued his hot shooting and nailed his third tripled of the night to get Lipscomb back within a possession, 57-54.
After another defensive stand, Benham once again got on the board and pulled Lipscomb within a point. The Bisons' 9-0 run continued when Ognacevic finished around the rim to give Lipscomb the lead, 58-57, for the first time since the 18:04 mark of the second half.
After trading points the next several possessions, Lipscomb opened up on a 6-0 run with buckets from Ognacevic and Benham to take a 69-64 lead with 3:58 remaining in regulation.
With 2:20 left in the game, Lipscomb held a 73-69 advantage with the ball and
Will Pruitt was fouled bringing the ball up the court, giving him a pair of free throws. He converted both from the charity stripe, giving the Bisons a two-possession lead (75-69).
Belmont cut Lipscomb's lead back down to two-points with a minute left in action. Lipscomb had the ball, but turned it over on a shot clock violation with 48 seconds remaining.
Tough Bisons defense forced a travel at the other end of the floor, giving Lipscomb the ball with 39 seconds left, but Belmont forced a Lipscomb turnover and tied the game with a pair of free throws with 11.7 seconds left in regulation.
With the final possession, Boyd took the ball up the court and dished the ball to Ognacevic who finished at the rim with one second left. The Bruins were unable to get a final shot and Lipscomb won 77-75 in thrilling fashion.
HERD NOTES
- Lipscomb shot 53% on the night to Belmont's 47%.
- Each squad had 35 rebounds, but Lipscomb had an impressive 23 bench points on the night.
- Boyd and Pruitt both dished out four assists.
- Benham led the way with 21 points. Three Bisons scored in double figures.
- The win marks the first victory over Belmont since 2017.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will be back in action Friday, Nov. 18 at Notre Dame. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.
