Joe Anderson’s career night fuels Lipscomb’s ASUN tournament victory

The Bisons march on.

The men’s team defeated Central Arkansas 84-66 Monday night to advance in the ASUN Conference Tournament. Lipscomb will host Queens University in the ASUN Semifinals on Thursday in Allen Arena.  

The team will be seeking its first ASUN title for Coach Lennie Acuff. 

“I told the coaches for the last two days the start in this game was going to be really important,” Acuff said. “[Central Arkansas] played really, really well in here last night, and we just didn’t want to give them any more confidence.

“You could tell their confidence was growing. The big kid, Turner, was incredible last night. He had 37 points. Joe got us off to an incredible start. That was awesome.” 

Joe Anderson made his presence felt from start to finish, capping off the night with a career-high 28 points and four steals. He was efficient, shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 8-of-12 from beyond the arc. 

“Joe’s been great since the day he got here, and he just keeps getting better and better,” Acuff said. 

Joe Anderson came into the day fighting an illness. He credits the staff for getting him ready.  

“Tell them how you’ve been feeling the last two days,” Acuff said.  

Anderson reflected on the preparation heading into the game.  

“First of all, I just want to give a testament to our trainer, man,” Anderson said. “Will Ness is the best. Like he hooked me up on the IV this morning. He’s been giving me medicine and hooked me up since Thursday. And it’s just a testament to him that I’m even able out there to play.” 

As for Anderson’s performance, he said it was the team’s confidence in him that motivated his play.  

“Coach has put so much confidence in all of us, and he trusts us to hit shots,” he said. “And I know he has a ton of faith in me. So, you know, seeing one go in, it just made me feel comfortable to shoot the next one.” 

The win puts coach Acuff one step closer to capturing the ASUN title. Acuff believes the win sets the tone moving forward.

“You just play this thing 40 minutes at a time,” Acuff said. “And you don’t have to be perfect. That’s what I want them to understand. Like you’re not going to be perfect. And so just get on to the next play. And I thought we did that. I thought it gave us a little bit of confidence.

“Now maybe we can breathe a little bit, at least for the next 24 hours. We got a fantastic Queens team coming in here on Thursday night. I mean, they go win at FGCU, who’s really good. They beat us in here the first time we played. And so we’ll enjoy this one tonight but move on. But I hope it gave us a little confidence.” 

Other Notes: 

Balanced Attack – Three Bisons finished in double figures, with Jacob Ognacevic (20 points) and Will Pruitt (19 points) providing support. 

First-Half Defensive Effort – Lipscomb held Central Arkansas to just 28.6% shooting in the opening half. 

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Photos by Micah Barkley