Final Score – Lipscomb: 83, Tennessee Tech: 80
Location – Nashville, Tenn. (Allen Arena)
Records – Lipscomb: 5-4, Tennessee Tech: 3-6
THE SHORT STORY
Lipscomb Men's Basketball battled in-state rival Tennessee Tech to an 83-80 victory on Wednesday afternoon to win its fourth-straight game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lipscomb got off to a hot start with three consecutive triples in its first three possessions, forcing an early Tennessee Tech timeout.
Tennessee Tech settled in after the timeout, but Lipscomb remained in the lead with a 13-6 advantage at the first media timeout.
Over the next four minutes, Lipscomb opened up a double-digit lead, holding the Golden Eagles without a field goal in the two and a half minutes before the under-12 media timeout, leading 20-9.
Out of the break, TTU went on a 7-0 run as the Lipscomb offense went cold, quickly cutting the Bisons' lead back down 20-16.
Lipscomb's offense picked back up out of the break, stretching the lead back out to 28-20 before Tennessee Tech called another timeout.
Despite the hot offensive start, the Bisons struggled to find the bottom of the net which allowed the Golden Eagles to tie things up at 28 a piece with 5:19 left in the first half.
Ross Candelino finally broke a three-minute Lipscomb scoring drought with a triple from the corner as the teams began to trade buckets.
In what seemed to be Lipscomb's final possession of the half, Candelino connected on another trey for a 36-34 advantage. The Golden Eagles, however, tied things back up with 2.6 seconds with a pair of free throws.
Grant Asman, however, inbounded the ball, using impressive arm strength to hit
Charlie Williams underneath the basket on the other side of the floor for an open layup to take a 38-36 lead heading into the halftime locker room.
The second half got off to a disjointed start with a pair of reviews that halted the game's flow. At the first media timeout of the frame, Tennessee Tech led 46-44.
The Golden Eagles offense picked up, getting out to a 56-50 lead, but a pair of triples from
Grant Asman kept the Bisons in striking distance.
Tennessee Tech got out to its largest lead of the afternoon, 61-54, just before the under-12 media timeout.
Lipscomb dug in and connected on five of its next seven, including a traditional three-point play from
Kellan Boylan, to shave the Golden Eagles' lead to just one, 63-62.
The Bisons struggled to get over the hump as Tennessee Tech remained in the lead, 68-64, with 8:03 left in the matchup.
Out of the timeout, triples from Asman and Candelino, and a big block defensively by Asman shaved the Bisons' lead back down to one. Lipscomb went on to tie the game up at 71 a piece with 5:41 on the clock with a Candelino free throw.
The squads traded buckets over the next couple of minutes as Lipscomb trailed 76-75 at the final media timeout with a one-and-one opportunity on deck.
The Bisons finally retook the lead, 80-78, with 1:35 left to play when
Titas Sargiunas picked up an offensive board and put it in uncontested.
Asman was fouled with 53.9 ticks of the clock left to earn a pair of free throws. He connected on both to make it a two-possession game at 82-78.
Tennessee Tech made a pair of free throws after being fouled on its next possession, cutting the lead 82-80. Lipscomb brought the ball down the court and called a timeout with 11 on the shot clock and 26.6 on the game clock.
Lipscomb was unable to get a basket after the timeout, but stood strong defensively to keep TTU from getting off a good shot. With 3.2 seconds left,
Mateo Esmeraldo was fouled and made one of two, but an offensive rebound from the Bisons iced the 83-80 victory.
HERD NOTES
- Asman led Lipscomb with 17 points and added six rebounds
- Other double-digit scorers included Esmeraldo (10), Sargiunas (16) and Candelino (12)
- The victory marked the fourth-straight for the Bisons
- Lipscomb shot 45% from the field and 34% from behind the arc
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will be back at Allen Arena on Saturday, Dec. 7 for a 4 p.m. CT tipoff against Alabama A&M.
