Final Score – Lipscomb: 75, Bellarmine: 72
Location – Louisville, Ky. (Knights Hall)
Records – Lipscomb: 17-11 (10-5, ASUN), Bellarmine: 11-16 (6-9, ASUN)
THE SHORT STORY
Despite being down by 13 late in the second half, Lipscomb Men's Basketball battled to a 75-72 victory over Bellarmine, improving to 10-5 in ASUN play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lipscomb got out to an early 5-0 advantage before Bellarmine got on the board. The Knights fought back to tie things at 7 each early, but Lipscomb took an early 9-7 advantage before the first media timeout.
The teams continued to trade buckets over the next several minutes as Bellarmine retook a 15-13 advantage at the second media timeout.
Offense was hard to come by on both sides of the ball, but
Ethan Duncan began to heat up with a pair of triples that gave Lipscomb a slight 22-19 advantage with eight minutes to play.
Charlie Williams would score another triple for the Bisons before the next timeout as Lipscomb led 25-19.
Lipscomb began to heat up as a squad from outside the arc, handling the Bellarmine zone. Candelino nailed a pair of triples over the next minutes as the Bisons got out to a 34-24 advantage before the final media timeout of the half.
Bellarmine slightly cut into the lead before the half, but Lipscomb led 36-28 after the first 20 minutes of play.
Coming out of the half, Candelino stayed hot with a triple on Lipscomb's first possession, but back-to-back three pointers from Bellarmine shaved the Lipscomb lead 39-36 as head coach Kevin Carroll called an early timeout.
Out of the break, Duncan hit another triple, but Bellarmine quickly shut the Bisons back down and surged out to a 47-42 advantage before the under-16 timeout.
Bellarmine quickly flipped the script, getting out to a 53-44 advantage, its largest of the night with 12 to play in the game.
The Knights continued to stay hot from behind the arc, continuing onto a 59-46 lead as Lipscomb struggled to find any offense in the second frame.
Lipscomb began to battle back with a couple of triples and a forced turnover, shaving the Bellarmine advantage 61-55 with just over seven minutes to play.
The Bisons continued to chip away and eventually tied the game 63-63 with just under five minutes to play after a triple from Candelino and a pair from the charity stripe from
Charlie Williams.
Lipscomb retook a 66-65 lead on an
Or Ashkenazi three before the final media timeout of the half with 3:31 remaining.
The squads continued to trade blows, and the game was tied back up at 68 with 1:50 left to play. Each team would score on its next possession, and Lipscomb called a timeout with 1:05 to play and the game tied 70-70.
Grant Asman got the front end of a one-and-one for a 71-70 advantage with 43 seconds on the clock. Bellarmine called a timeout with 29.9 seconds left and 17 minutes on its shot clock.
Bellarmine scored with 20 seconds to play to retake a 72-71 advantage. Lipscomb cleanly inbounded the ball and called a timeout with 15.2 ticks of the clock.
Lipscomb inbounded the ball and Sargiunas got the ball with seven seconds, and drained a triple through contact for a 74-72 advantage and the opportunity for a four-point play with 5.9 on the clock. Sargiunas made the free throw for a 75-72 lead with 5.9 to play. Bellarmine had the final shot, but the three-pointer was off the back iron, and Lipscomb secured the rebound and the 75-72 victory.
HERD NOTES
- Candelino led the way with 17 points while Sargiunas poured in 14 points
- Esmeraldo and Williams both had seven assists
- Lipscomb shot 47.2% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc
- Candelino led Lipscomb with 7 rebounds
UP NEXT
Lipscomb will return to Allen Arena to welcome North Alabama on Saturday, February 21 for senior day. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. CT.
