Final Score – Lipscomb: 88, North Alabama: 79
Location – Nashville, Tenn. (Allen Arena)
Records – Lipscomb: 12-7 (3-2, ASUN), North Alabama: 7-12 (1-4, ASUN)
THE SHORT STORY
Lipscomb Men's Basketball bounced back with an 88-79 victory over North Alabama Saturday afternoon to improve to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in ASUN play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
North Alabama won the tip, but Lipscomb got an early stop. Freshman
Cody Head got the start in place of injured
Will Pruitt and made the first basket of the night, spurring Lipscomb to an early 7-0 lead before North Alabama got on the board.
North Alabama seemed to settle in and went on a 6-0 run just before the first media timeout of the game, but Lipscomb still held an 11-9 lead at the break.
Out of the break, North Alabama forced a turnover and cashed in on a triple to take a 12-11 lead, but
Dylan Faulkner broke the Lipscomb drought with a much-needed bucket in the paint, quickly retaking a 13-12 lead.
The game was back-and-forth with turnovers on both sides of the floor over the next several minutes and the game was tied at 17 each at the 10:48 media timeout.
Lipscomb started to heat up from behind the arc with back-to-back triples from
Joe Anderson and
AJ McGinnis out of the under-eight media timeout for a 27-22 lead, its largest separation since the early minutes of the matchup.
The Bisons were able to hold its slight advantage through the final minutes of the half and took a 36-30 advantage into the halftime break. Although Lipscomb was being outshot from the floor, Lipscomb was winning the rebound battle by a 12-rebound margin and had 10 second-chance points to North Alabama's zero.
Out of halftime, the Bisons and the Lions kept pace with eight points each before the under-16 media timeout as Lipscomb held a 44-38 advantage with 15:29 on the clock.
After the break, North Alabama scored four-unanswered, but
Cody Head got the Bisons back on the board with a traditional three-point play, putting some life back in the Lipscomb offense.
Back-to-back triples by Boyd and Anderson on consecutive possessions got Lipscomb out to its first double-digit lead, 53-43.
North Alabama, however, quickly shaved the lead to five, 53-48, with a 5-0 run.
Anderson continued to have the hot hand with a layup at the end of the shot clock and a triple that saw the Bisons get back out to a 58-50 lead at the 10:27 mark of the second half.
Lipscomb was hot over the next minutes, going five of its next six. A quick 6-0 run with triples from
TJ Johnson and
Owen McCormack forced a North Alabama timeout at the 8:40 mark as the Bisons got out to a 66-54 lead, its largest of the afternoon.
North Alabama picked up the full court press to try and slow down the Lipscomb offense, but the Bisons handled the pressure well and continued to convert offensively and stay ahead of the Lions.
North Alabama was doing everything it could to claw back into the game, but every time it saw some momentum, Lipscomb would make a big play or a big bucket to stifle the Lions and keep the double-digit lead.
At the final media timeout of the second half, Lipscomb held an 81-71 advantage with a one-and-one opportunity coming up for
Grant Asman.
The Bisons made nine of its last 10 field goals en route to an 88-79 victory over North Alabama for its third ASUN victory of the season.
HERD NOTES
- Lipscomb shot 57-percent from the floor and 56-percent from beyond the arc.
- The Bisons out-rebounded North Alabama 31-21.
- Boyd led Lipscomb with 19 points. Other double-digit scorers included McGinnis, Head and Anderson.
THOUGHTS FROM THE BENCH
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will hit the road for an ASUN matchup at FGCU on Thursday, Jan. 25. Tipoff in Ft. Myers, Fla. is set for 6 p.m. CT.
