Final Score – Lipscomb: 79, Stetson: 74
Location – Allen Arena (Nashville, Tenn.)
Records – Lipscomb: 13-7 (6-1, ASUN), Stetson Hatters: 7-13 (3-4, ASUN)
THE SHORT STORY
Lipscomb Men's Basketball ground out a 79-74 overtime victory, defeating Stetson in a rare Thursday afternoon matchup to improve to 6-1 in ASUN play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lipscomb won the tip and got the first points with a
Grant Asman bucket. The Bisons continued to stay in front with a 9-7 advantage at the first media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Lipscomb surged ahead to a 19-9 advantage after making four-straight field goals. Before the second media timeout, Lipscomb continued on a 7-0 run for a 21-9 advantage with 11:22 left in the first half.
Out of the timeout, neither squad scored for over two and a half minutes before Stetson finally broke the drought. Lipscomb responded when Asman finished through contact.
The Bisons got out to a 27-13 advantage, but Stetson nailed back-to-back triples, shaving the Lipscomb lead 27-19 to prompt a Kevin Carroll timeout with 6:58 to play in the half.
Stetson scored another bucket out of the timeout, but
Ethan Duncan stopped the 8-0 Hatters run with a triple.
The Lipscomb offense continued to struggle but held onto a 30-25 lead with 4:13 remaining in the half. The Bisons went on to lead 34-29 at the break.
Out of the break, the teams traded buckets as Lipscomb led 42-35 at the under-16 timeout of the second half.
Lipscomb made five of its last seven field goals, including back-to-back triples, stretching its lead 50-39, forcing a Stetson timeout with 13:15 left in the game.
Stetson, however, outscored the Bisons 16-5 over the next several minutes, as the game was tied at 55 each with six minutes to play.
Lipscomb hadn't scored for nearly five minutes before Sargiunas broke the drought with a driving layup to regain the lead.
Stetson retook a lead that held until Asman nailed a much-needed Lipscomb triple with 2:30 left for a 61-60 advantage.
Stetson, however, answered with one of its own, and the Hatters led 63-61 with two minutes to play.
Esmeraldo tied the game at 63 with 1:21 left on the clock by knocking down a pair of free throws.
On the next possession, Stetson hit another triple for a 66-63 advantage. Lipscomb called a timeout with 55 seconds left on the clock.
On the inbounds,
Ethan Duncan hit a jumper, cutting the Stetson lead 66-65 with less than 30 seconds. The Bisons fouled the Hatters with 15.7 to play, and both free throws were made as Stetson led 68-65. The Bisons called a timeout with 11.3 to play.
The Bisons inbounded the ball and scrambled to get a shot off just before the buzzer. Sargiunas drained a deep triple with 1.1 left on the clock.
Stetson didn't get a good shot off before the buzzer, and the game headed to overtime.
The Hatters and Bisons traded buckets early in the overtime period. Duncan gave Lipscomb back a 73-70 lead with a step-back three-pointer with just over 1:30 left to play.
Stetson called a timeout, trailing 75-73, with 48.1 left to play. The Bisons forced a shot clock violation on the next play and got the ball back, leading by a pair, with 29.9 to play.
Lipscomb inbounded the ball, and Esmeraldo was fouled with 21.9 left. He made both from the stripe to extend the Lipscomb lead 77-73.
Or Ashkanazi and Asman made free throws down the stretch and the Lipscomb defense held strong as Lipscomb came away with a 79-74 victory.
HERD NOTES
- Asman led the way with 18 points and added six rebounds
- Other double-digit scorers included Duncan (13), Sargiunas (12) and Esmeraldo (12)
- Sargiunas led Lipscomb with five assists
- The Bisons shot just 39% from the field to Stetson's 42%
- Lipscomb turned Stetson over 18 times, scoring 17 points of those turnovers
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will be back after a quick turnaround to take on FGCU on Friday, Jan. 23 at noon in Allen Arena.
