Final Score - Lipscomb: 65, Notre Dame: 66
Location - South Bend, Ind. (Joyce Center)
Records - Lipscomb: 2-2, Notre Dame: 4-0
THE SHORT STORY
Lipscomb Men's Basketball gave Notre Dame all it could handle Friday night in South Bend, Ind., taking the game to the final second before falling 66-65.
Trae Benham and
Jacob Ognacevic led the way with 19 points each while Asadullah also poured in 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Benham got things going early for the Bisons, forcing a turnover on Notre Dame's first possession and knocked down a triple on the other end for a quick 3-0 lead.
Lipscomb continued to play well defensively and Benham continued to stay hot, draining another deep three-pointer and drove for a layup for five unanswered points to give Lipscomb a 12-7 advantage with 14:27 left in the first half.
Out of the media timeout, Notre Dame had the hot hand and tied things 12-12 with a 5-0 run.
The Fighting Irish took its first lead of the evening at the 10:19 mark of the first half after a three-pointer made the score 15-14.
Ahsan Asadullah scored his first points of the night with nice work in the post to keep pace with Notre Dame.
Notre Dame, however, went on a 10-0 run and opened a 29-18 lead, its largest of the night with 4:05 in the first half.
Tommy Murr came into the game for the first time this season with just under three minutes left in the half and made an immediate impact, finding a cutting Asadullah who banked a shot home to get Lipscomb back within single digits (29-20).
With under a minute to play in the half, Ognacevic trained a triple to get the Bisons back within a pair of possessions and send the teams to the locker room with Notre Dame leading 29-23.
Out of the half,
Derrin Boyd had the first points when he drove to the basket and continued to cut into the Notre Dame lead.
With the help of strong defense and an Asadullah bucket, Lipscomb pulled back within a possession, 33-30, with just under 17 minutes in the second half.
Notre Dame, however, mounted a 6-0 run and saw its lead stretch to as many as 10.
The Bisons began to find some points in the paint with Asadullah and Ognacevic combining for a 6-0 run to cut the Fighting Irish's lead 44-40 and force a Notre Dame timeout.
The game of runs continued, and Notre Dame went on a 6-0 run of its own to get a double-digit lead back, 50-42, with 9:27 left in the second frame.
Every time the Fighting Irish threatened to pull away, the Bisons found the shot it needed to stay in striking distance as Lipscomb kept the Notre Dame lead at 10 with 7:39 left in regulation.
Lipscomb continued to claw its way back into the game as Boyd once again drove the basket and got Lipscomb back within a pair of possessions. Benham followed it up with a huge triple to get the Bisons within four, 59-55.
The Bisons continued on a 8-0 run to retake the lead. Ognacevic hit a huge bucket in the paint to pull within a pair and Benham once again drained one from deep and drew the foul to put the Bisons up 62-61 with 2:11 left to play.
After making the free throw, Lipscomb got a defensive stop and had the ball, up by two, with a minute left. The Bisons were unable to convert offensively and Notre Dame sunk a three-pointer to take a one-point lead with 14 seconds left on the clock.
With the ball, Lipscomb took the final shot with two seconds left. The ball clanged off the rim and into the hands of Ognacevic, but he was unable to get a shot off before time expired as Lipscomb feel by a point, 66-65 at Notre Dame.
HERD NOTES
- Lipscomb out-shot Notre Dame 54%-45%.
- The Bisons sank three triples, with Benham accounting for four.
- Matt Schner pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and the team out-rebounded Notre Dame 32-24.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will return home to Allen Arena Monday, Nov. 21 against Covenant College. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT.
