Final Score – Lipscomb: 84, Jacksonville: 82
Location – Nashville, Tenn. (Allen Arena)
Records – Lipscomb: 14-10 (5-4, ASUN), Jacksonville: 11-12 (2-7, ASUN)
THE SHORT STORY
Lipscomb men's basketball snapped a two-game losing skid with a hard-fought 84-82 victory over Jacksonville Saturday afternoon in Allen Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Jacksonville got the first points of the night with a 3-0 lead. The Bisons struggled to score for the first couple of minutes until
Dylan Faulkner found a cutting
Derrin Boyd who laid it in for Lipscomb's first points.
The Bisons continued to struggle offensively through the early going of the game as Jacksonville led 13-6 at the 12:09 media timeout of the first half.
Out of the timeout, Jacksonville nailed a triple for a 10-point lead, but the Bisons started to find its rhythm and punched back with a 10-2 run, quickly shaving the Jacksonville lead 18-16.
After a lengthy delay due to a technical malfunction with the scoreboards, the game got restarted and
Owen McCormack Will Pruitt nailed back-to-back three-pointers, giving Lipscomb a 22-18 lead.
The back-and-forth action continued with neither team gaining much separation until a Lipscomb 7-0 run gave the Bisons a 35-32 advantage with under a minute left in the first half.
Lipscomb forced a turnover with less than 40 seconds to play in the half and
Cody Head was fouled. He converted both free throws for a 37-32 Lipscomb lead.
Jacksonville got a three-pointer before the end of the half, but Lipscomb held a slight 37-35 advantage at the break.
The battle resumed in the second half with each team going on mini-runs, but neither team able to pull away. At the under-12 timeout Lipscomb still held a slight 53-51 advantage, but hadn't scored in over two minutes.
Lipscomb broke its scoring drought and picked up the defense, holding Jacksonville to a drought of its own. The Dolphins didn't score for nearly three minutes and the Bisons took advantage with a 7-0 run, capped off by a
Grant Asman dunk, for a 60-52 lead, forcing a Dolphins timeout.
Out of the timeout,
Joe Anderson forced his second steal in as many possessions, and the Bisons converted with a pair for a 62-52 advantage, the largest lead of the night.
Lipscomb forced yet another turnover in the Dolphins' next trip down the floor and cashed in with a triple, extending the lead 65-52.
The Bisons were connecting at a high clip, making eight of its last nine before the under-four media timeout and held a 74-63 lead with 2:58 left on the clock.
Out of the timeout, Jacksonville scored five quick, shaving the Bisons' lead to 74-70, but Boyd nailed a clutch triple from the top of the key, extending the lead back out 77-70 with 1:15 left to play.
The Dolphins didn't go away, however, as the three ball kept them in the game down the stretch. With 44 seconds left, Jacksonville made a triple, cutting into the Lipscomb lead 77-73.
With Lipscomb in the bonus, Jacksonville fouled
Will Pruitt, who made both from the charity stripe, but once again went down the floor and got a needed bucket with an and-one. Lipscomb held a 79-76 lead with 33 seconds left.
Boyd was fouled on Lipscomb's trip down the floor and made a pair of clutch free throws for an 81-76 advantage with 28 seconds left. However, Jacksonville yet again made a quick triple to extend its hopes.
AJ McGinnis went to the line with the Bisons down 81-79 and made one of his free throws to put the Bisons ahead 82-79 with 20 seconds left. Jacksonville hit a triple with seven seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 82-82.
Boyd was fouled as he drove the basket with three seconds left on the clock. He made both shots for an 84-82 lead. The Dolphins put up a three-point heave as the clock expired, but the shot was no good as the Bisons came away with the 84-82 victory in ASUN play.
FROM THE BENCH
HERD NOTES
- Boyd led all scorers with 24 points on the evening. He added four rebounds and two assists.
- Pruitt poured in 19 points while Head added 15 on the night.
- The Bisons shot 55-percent on the game to Jacksonville's 48-percent.
- Lipscomb forced 13 Jacksonville turnovers and scored 22 points off those turnovers.
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will remain at home Thursday, Feb. 8 against Queens. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.
