Men start home season strong, beating Bryan 98-53
Lipscomb men’s basketball took on the Bryan College Lions in their home opener on Nov. 15, beating them 98-53. The game fell during Bisons Weekend – Lipscomb’s version of a homecoming weekend – and the attendance in Allen was over 2,000.
The Bisons shot 48.6% in field goals, and 30.6% from outside the key, racking up 98 points against the Lions. They also shot 83.3% from the free throw line.
Starting off the momentum for the Bisons was senior center Charlie Williams, who made a tip-in to put the first two points on the board. From there, the Bisons continued to grow their lead, while also holding the Lions at a scoring impasse. Though they’d made two free throws at around the three minute mark, the Lions were unable to score until almost eight minutes into the first half.
By the halfway point media timeout, the score was 22-7 in the Bisons’ favor. Sophomore guard Derek Curtis had so far been the only member of the Lions to score from off the free throw line.
Freshman forward Kennedy Okpara brought the home crowd to their feet with a dunk in the paint. Senior guard/forward Kellan Boylan built on that momentum later in the first half with yet another dunk.
Only about three minutes later, Okpara followed up with a second dunk, earning raucous cheers from the Lipscomb student section – the Lippy Lunatics – in response.
By the end of the first half, the Bisons were leading the Lions, 52-24. They continued to grow their lead in the second half, while holding the Lions at bay through a series of steals and blocks. By the midway media timeout, the Bisons had nearly 40 points over the Lions, with a score of 72-37.
Lipscomb junior guard Luke Carter made the last basket of the game, landing a three-pointer to bring the Bisons a full 45 points ahead of the Lions. The Lipscomb bench launched to their feet, screaming and cheering for Carter.
The Bisons finished out the game 98-53 and the players came over to thank the students and fans to the strains of “Purple Rain.” Graduate student forward Grant Asman was Lipscomb’s player of the game, making 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, along with two blocks and one steal.
The Bisons’ next home game will be on Nov. 22, at 4pm, taking on Western Carolina. But before that, they will head to Belmont for this year’s Battle of the Boulevard on Nov. 19, at 7:30pm.
Featured image taken by Micah Barkley.
