Final Score: Lipscomb 77, South Dakota 85
Location: Vermillion, S.D.
Records: Lipscomb 0-1, South Dakota 1-1
THE SHORT STORY
Despite a 20-point performance from Will Pruitt and a strong first half, Lipscomb Men's Basketball was unable to hold on and dropped an 85-77 decision to South Dakota on the road to open the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lipscomb got out to a quick start, holding South Dakota to just four points through the first media timeout. The Bisons had a quick 15-4 lead, going six-for-six from the floor and draining three triples.
South Dakota began to chip away at the Lipscomb lead, getting back in single digits, but
Ahsan Asadullah got the Bisons back out to a double-digit lead with a nice move in the post for a 20-10 advantage.
The Bisons continued to be on fire on the offensive end and an 11-5 run extended the Lipscomb lead 29-15 as the game neared the eight-minute mark of the first man.
Lipscomb's offense started to slow down, going scoreless for over three minutes and South Dakota went on a mini-run to shave the Lipscomb lead 32-23.
The Coyotes heated and up and nailed a three-pointer to pull within four points (35-31), to force a Lipscomb timeout.
Out of the timeout, the squads traded points, but a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer for Matt Schner gave the Bisons a 42-35 lead heading into the locker room.
At the half, Lipscomb had nailed seven triples and were shooting over 53% from the floor.
The Bisons picked up right where it left off with Pruitt draining a three-pointer for the first points of the second half and a 10-point advantage, but the Coyotes punched back with an 8-2 run to pull within a pair, 47-43.
Trae Benham stopped the bleeding with a nice drive to the basket to give Lipscomb some breathing room with a two-possession lead.
South Dakota got within a point at the 12:53 mark and the pace picked up with back-to-back buckets from Jacob Ognacevic and a Schner to get the lead back out 57-52.
With just over nine minutes left in the game, South Dakota tied the game at 57 when it compared a pair of free throws. On the other end, the Coyotes converted another free throw on the next possession and took its first 58-57 lead of the game.
The Coyotes caught fire and took its largest lead of the night at 64-59 with 6:33 left to play in the game. After a scoreless 90 seconds, South Dakota nailed another triple for a 67-59 lead with five minutes left in the matchup.
The final minutes of the game were all South Dakota and Lipscomb dropped an 85-77 decision on the road to open up the season.
HERD NOTES
- Pruitt led Lipscomb with 20 points on the game with Ognacevic pouring in 18.
- Schner also had double-digit points with 10 and contributed a team-high seven rebounds.
- Asadullah had three blocks and six rebounds.
- Each team hit 10 triples on the night.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will be back on the floor for its home opener Saturday, Nov. 12 for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff against Campbllesville-Harrodsburg.
