Final Score – Lipscomb: 75, Michigan: 83
Location – Ann Arbor, Mich. (Crisler Center)
Records – Lipscomb: 7-5, Michigan: 7-3
THE SHORT STORY
Lipscomb Men's Basketball dropped a highly competitive 83-75 decision on Saturday afternoon at Michigan behind a career night from sophomore guard Will Pruitt.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Out of the gate, Michigan got the first three points of the afternoon, but Lipscomb didn't back down and traded points for the next couple minutes. After Michigan took a 7-4 lead, Pruitt tied things up with a triple for a 7-7 game.
The three-point line stayed hot for the Bisons when
Matt Schner drained a triple for a 12-9 Lipscomb lead that would hold through the first media timeout.
After making five of its last seven from the floor, the Bisons had a 15-11 lead, its largest of the night, with just under 15:00 left in the half, but Michigan punched back with a 5-0 run, retaking a 16-15 lead with 13:57 remaining.
Michigan, however, went on a 14-2 run over the next 3:38 to open up a 25-17 lead, forcing a timeout from head coach
Lennie Acuff.
The Wolverines threatened to run away, but back-to-back triples from Pruitt kept things close as Michigan led 37-27 with just under five minutes to play in the first frame.
Pruitt continue to stay hot, getting Lipscomb back in single-digits with yet another triple, shaving the Michigan lead 37-30.
Both teams continued to shoot well down the stretch as Lipscomb nailed four of its last five shots, but Michigan took a 49-41 lead into the halftime break.
After the first frame, both squads were shooting over 50% from the field and nearly 40% from behind the arc. With his second rebound in the first half,
Ahsan Asadullah eclipsed the 1,000-rebound mark for his career, becoming Lipscomb's second all-time rebounder.
Out of the halftime break, the Wolverines used a 7-0 run to get back out to a double-digit 56-44 lead, before the under eighteen media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Pruitt drained yet another triple to match a career-high with 22 points.
Lipscomb scored five straight with the help of a
Quincy Clark driving bucket and got back to a seven-point deficit with 13:11 left in the game.
A 6-0 Lipscomb run, capped off by a pair of Pruitt free throws, saw Lipscomb pull within five, 58-52, with 12:50 remaining.
The Bisons tightened up defensively, holding Michigan to one of its last seven shots and McGinnis nailed a three-pointer to get the lead down to two-possessions, 62-58, forcing a Michigan timeout.
Out of the break, McGinnis connected from behind the arc once again and the Michigan lead dwindled to a point with just over nine minutes in regulation.
The Lipscomb run continued as Lipscomb took its first lead since early in the first half with a
Derrin Boyd pull up jumper for a 63-62 Bisons advantage.
The 8-0 Lipscomb run continued with a Clark bucket for a 65-62 lead, but an and-one opportunity on the other end tied the game at 65 each with 6:44 to play.
Lipscomb held onto the lead until the Wolverines used a traditional three-point play to retake a 69-68 advantage with 5:40 on the clock.
The squads traded buckets for the next minutes and at the final media timeout Michigan held a 74-73 advantage.
Out of the media timeout, Michigan hit the next two buckets for a 79-73 lead with 1:20 left to play. The Bisons struggled in the last couple of minutes, going 1-for-7 and the wolverines made clutch free throws as Michigan pulled out a 75-83 victory.
HERD NOTES
- Pruitt scored a career-high 27 points and added three rebounds and two assists.
- Clark also had a career-high with 15 points and McGinnis finished one off of his career-high with 13.
- Lipscomb shot 42% from the floor while Michigan shot at a 50% clip.
- Each squad had four steals.
- McGinnis, Schner and Grant Asman all had five rebounds.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb stays on the road for its final game before the Christmas break for a tilt at Louisville. Tipoff is slated for Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 5 p.m. CT.
