Final Score – Lipscomb: 78, Florida State: 75
Location – Tallahassee, Fla. (Tucker Center)
Records – Lipscomb: 9-6 (0-0, ASUN), Florida State: 6-6 (0-1, ACC)
THE SHORT STORY
Lipscomb ended 2023 and its non-conference slate with a massive 78-75 victory over Florida State on the road Saturday morning for its first win over the Seminoles since 1951.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Florida State earned the first possession of the morning after winning the tip, but Lipscomb's defense made a stand and forced a shot clock violation for the first turnover of the game. The Bisons took advantage when
Owen McCormack converted in the paint on the offensive end for an early 2-0 advantage.
The teams battled back-and-forth over the first four minutes of the matchup as Florida State held a 9-7 lead just after the first media timeout.
The Bisons started to struggle from the floor without a field goal for a couple of minutes before
Dylan Faulkner made a great cut and
Joe Anderson found him for an easy pair.
Lipscomb got a big lift from freshman
Cody Head off the bench with a triple, putting the Bisons back within a point.
His dominance continued when he went on an 8-0 run himself with two more big buckets, including a strong and-one, pushing the Bisons to a 19-17 advantage.
The Bisons got another triple from the big man, McCormack, and took a 22-19 lead into the under-12 media timeout.
Lipscomb and Head continued to fire away and increased its lead to its largest of the day, 29-23, when Head drained a deep three to remain perfect from the floor.
Will Pruitt began to heat up for the Bisons with a couple of fantastic assists and big shots as he led the Bisons to a double digit, 39-29, lead at the final media timeout of the first half.
A 9-0 Lipscomb run and a four-minute Florida State scoring drought saw the Bisons with a 43-29 lead with just over 30 ticks on the clock before the half.
The Seminoles finally got back on the board, cutting the lead 43-31, but Pruitt drained a deep triple just before the halftime buzzer for a 46-31 lead at the half.
Out of the halftime break, the three ball was falling for the Bisons with three quick triples, capped off by
AJ McGinnis, which helped the Bisons get out to a 60-39 lead at the 16:24 mark.
Florida State got some momentum going with a 7-0 run, cutting the Lipscomb lead 62-48 with 14:02 left in the second half as head coach
Lennie Acuff called a timeout.
Out of the break, Florida State got another basket, but McGinnis stopped the bleeding with another triple to stifle the Florida State momentum.
The squads continued to trade punches as Lipscomb took a 70-55 lead into the final 10 minutes of play in Tallahassee.
Florida State started to chip away at the Lipscomb lead, getting back within 13 points, 70-57 with 8:24 left. The Seminoles seemed to have all the momentum as the Florida State defense began to give Lipscomb trouble.
An 8-0 FSU run saw the Seminoles shave the Lipscomb lead to just 10 points with 6:45 left on the clock. Florida State continued to cut into the Lipscomb lead as the Bisons hadn't scored in nearly five minutes as the lead dwindled to 70-62.
After no points in over five minutes, McCormack got Lipscomb back on the board when he made one of his two free throw attempts for a 71-64 Lipscomb advantage.
After more than six minutes without a field goal, Faulkner finally broke through and got a huge offensive board and bucket for the Bisons with a second-chance dunk to give Lipscomb a little bit of life.
Florida State, however, responded with a pair of free throws and forced a Lipscomb turnover. The Seminoles converted as the Bisons' lead shrunk to one score, 73-70 with two minutes to play.
McGinnis answered with a massive triple for the Lipscomb offense, however, for a 76-70 advantage.
Florida State answered with two points as Lipscomb had the ball with a 76-72 lead and 1:19 left on the clock. Lipscomb held the ball until 50 seconds remained and Anderson drove the basket. His shot was called good due to Seminoles goaltending as the Bisons had a 78-72 lead with under a minute left to play.
The dramatics continued late as the Bisons fouled Florida State on a three-point attempt with 37 seconds left. After making all three from the charity stripe, Florida State was back within a possession, 78-75, with 37.4 left.
The Bisons waited until the end of the shot clock to take a shot, but the attempt was blocked. Florida State had one final shot, but the three-pointer was short and McCormack collected the rebound. Lipscomb saw out the 78-75 victory in its final non-conference matchup of the 2023-24 campaign.
HERD NOTES
- Lipscomb secured its first victory over Florida State since Jan. 5, 1951.
- Pruitt led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds. Other double-digit scorers included McGinnis (12), McCormack (13) and Head (11).
- The Bisons shot 47-percent from the field and 48-percent from three-point range.
- Lipscomb out-scored Florida State in the paint 34-20.
- Lipscomb notched 14 fast break points.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will begin ASUN play at the turn of the year when it heads to Eastern Kentucky on January 4. Tipoff in Richmond, Ky. is set for 6 p.m. CT.
