Men's Basketball Loses At The Buzzer In ASUN Quarterfinal

Tuesday, March 5

7:00 PM

Lipscomb University

20-12,11-5ASUN

North Alabama

15-16,8-8ASUN

Team	1	2	F
North Ala.	50	27	77
Lipscomb	43	32	75

Men's Basketball Loses At The Buzzer In ASUN Quarterfinal

3/5/2024 9:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Final Score – Lipscomb: 75, North Alabama: 77
Location – Nashville, Tenn. (Allen Arena)
Records – Lipscomb: 20-12 (11-5, ASUN), North Alabama: 15-16 (8-8, ASUN)

THE SHORT STORY
No. 3 Lipscomb Men's Basketball fell 77-75 Tuesday night after a 40-minute battle with No. 6 North Alabama in Allen Arena. A last second wild shot from the Lions was the difference in the ASUN Quarterfinal matchup.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Lipscomb got the first points of the night with a Will Pruitt bucket after a steal, but North Alabama scored 10-unanswered for an early 12-2 lead forcing a Lipscomb timeout.

North Alabama got out to a 14-2 lead, but Joe Anderson got a steal and fed Cody Head on the other end for an easy layup to get Lipscomb back on the board just before the first media timeout.

Out of the break, Joe Anderson got a friendly roll on a triple as the Bisons cut the lead to single-digits.

UNA seemingly couldn't miss in the opening minutes as the Lions were shooting 61-percent from the field and 60-percent from three-point range. At the under-eight media timeout, North Alabama held a 31-19 advantage.

Out of the timeout, UNA made a free throw for a 32-19 lead, but Anderson connected on a layup and AJ McGinnis made three free throws, getting the Bisons back in single digits, 32-24 with 6:30 on the clock.

The Bisons struggled to stop the UNA offense, but stayed in the game hitting big shots. Paxton Davidson came off the bench and gave Lipscomb good minutes, including a much-needed three-pointer with just under five minutes left in the half.

Lipscomb was down as much as 14 points in the first half, but made its last four shots from the floor in the half and cut the lead 50-43 heading into the halftime break.

Lipscomb cut the lead to six, 56-50, out of the first media timeout of the half when Pruitt went up for a contested layup and finished through contact. The Bisons got a stop on the defensive end and Cody Head made two free throws to further cut into the lead, 56-52.

The Bisons were getting stops, but struggled to get anything going offensively and trailed 61-52 at the under-12 media timeout.

Lipscomb continued to chip away and took its first lead since the opening possession when McGinnis nailed a triple.

North Alabama retook the lead and led 68-65 at the final media timeout of the second half.

The Bisons scored four-unanswered out of the final media timeout for a 69-68 lead with 2:00 left in regulation.

North Alabama sunk a triple with one minute to go for a 73-69 lead, but Pruitt answered with a triple of his own as the Bisons trailed 73-72 with 51.7 ticks left on the clock.

Lipscomb was down three with 5.4 on the clock and Owen McCormack nailed a three pointer to tie the game 75-75. North Alabama, however, made a wild shot at the buzzer to down the Bisons 77-75.

The Bisons finished the season 20-12 for its second-consecutive 20-win season. Lipscomb finished the regular season tied for second place in the conference, just a game back from first place.