Box Score Final Score – Lipscomb: 62, Jacksonville: 59
Location – Nashville, Tenn. (Allen Arena)
Records – Lipscomb: 17-12 (9-7, ASUN), Jacksonville: 13-14 (6-10, ASUN)
THE SHORT STORY
AJ McGinnis was the hero for Lipscomb Men's Basketball as his last-second three-pointer lifted the Bisons to a 62-59 victory over Jacksonville in the final home game of the regular season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The shots were falling early as the teams traded triples on the first two possessions for a quick 3-3 score.
At the first media timeout, the game was tied at 12 with both squads shooting at an incredibly high clip. Lipscomb was shooting 83-percent while Jacksonville was hitting at 63-percent with a combined four three-pointers between the teams.
The offense slowed down out of the media timeout on both sides as both struggled to score for the next couple of minutes. Jacksonville finally got some separation with just over 11 to go in the frame, taking a 19-14 lead with a triple just before the second media timeout of the half.
After Jacksonville extended the lead to seven points, the three-ball started to fall again with back-to-back triples from
AJ McGinnis and
Matt Schner, cutting the Jacksonville lead to just a possession at the 6:04 mark of the first half.
After forcing a turnover, Lipscomb cut the lead to a point, 27-26, when
Will Pruitt found Schner who was waiting for the layup.
Jacksonville, however, stretched the lead back out to 39-31 at the half.
On the first possession of the half,
Ahsan Asadullah went to work in the post for a score to give Lipscomb early life.
After a defensive stop, Asadullah got another bucket to go, cutting the Dolphins' lead 39-35 before a steal and score from Schner, getting the Bisons back within two, 39-37, forcing a Jacksonville timeout at the 18:29 mark.
Lipscomb's defense continued to give the Dolphins fits as the Bisons got a steal and converted on the other end for the third time in the half.
Jacob Ognacevic's bucket gave Lipscomb a 40-39 lead
The Bisons got a little separation for the first time when Schner drilled a three-pointer and Ognacevic connected on a pair of free throws for a 47-42 advantage at the 13:00 mark of the second half.
Jacksonville stopped the Lipscomb 7-0 run and started to swing the momentum back in their favor, but Pruitt put in a big three-pointer from the corner for a 50-45 Lipscomb lead.
Lipscomb was scoreless for over two and a half minutes, but McGinnis broke the stalemate with a big triple to push Lipscomb back to a 53-50 lead.
The Dolphins wouldn't go away and battled back to a one-point lead, but
Derrin Boyd got himself open for a triple to retake a 56-54 advantage.
After some back-and-forth action, the Bisons clung to a 59-57 lead at the final media timeout with 3:00 left on the clock.
Out of the timeout, Jacksonville tied things up at 59 with 2:30 left in regulation.
Things went scoreless for the next two minutes and Jacksonville had the ball with 1:05 left on the clock. Lipscomb forced a tough shot at the end of the shot clock, but a jump ball on the rebound gave Jacksonville the ball back with 34.2 left on the clock.
After a defensive rebound, the Bisons had the ball with 24 seconds left. At the end of the clock, McGinnis launched a three ball and banked it in for a dramatic 62-59 victory.
HERD NOTES
- Schner was Lipscomb's leading scorer with 15 points. Boyd, Ognacevic and McGinnis also scored in double figures.
- Asadullah led the way with seven rebounds on the night.
- Lipscomb shot 49% from the floor and 48% from three.
- The lead changed hands nine times during the game.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will hit the road for the final weekend of regular season play. Tipoff at FGCU is set for Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. CT.
