Bisons win ASUN tourney semifinal against Queens 81-75

Lipscomb went into the ASUN tournament semifinals Thursday night to face one of only conference teams that’s beaten them at home – Queens. With home court advantage and over 1,700 fans in attendance, the Bisons won, 81-75, after a wild rollercoaster of a game.

The Bisons started off the game a little shakily. Though they won a turnover before Queens could score, they were unable to make a basket. The Royals began the game with dominance through the first half of the game, leading the Bisons by 9-4 points when the buzzer sounded for the first media timeout.

Six minutes in and the Royals leading 15-4, Lipscomb called a timeout. After that, the Bisons slowly began to pick up their momentum. Junior center Charlie Williams got a defensive rebound that led to senior guard Joe Anderson making a jumping three-point shot.

By the next media timeout, two three-pointers by Anderson and a turnaround jumper by senior forward Jacob Ognacevic had brought the Bisons within three.

The Bisons weren’t content to let the Royals have either the lead or the win, clawing their way back slowly but surely. They inched their way closer to the Royals lead, finally overtaking them by two points at the close of the first half. Leading the Royals 34-32, 12 of the Bisons’ points in the first half had come from three-pointers made by Anderson. Continuing his Monday night momentum, Anderson shot 4-6 in the first half for three-pointers.

The Bisons headed into the second half with renewed vigor, but for a moment that looked like it wouldn’t be enough. The Royals and the Bisons went back and forth for the first five minutes of the second half, repeatedly outpacing each other by one point. Trading the lead back and forth, they entered into a tight, fast-paced battle.

Two made free throws by Williams helped the Bisons get out of that one-point cycle, taking the score to 37-40. But the Royals’ answer was swift and harsh, as senior forward Jaxon Pollard made a three-pointer to tie the score at 40.

The two teams found themselves once again trading the lead by one or two points for the next three minutes of play. Until Pollard made a three-pointer… followed by a layup… and a free throw. Senior guard Gyasi Powell responded with a three-pointer of his own, but as the Royals continued to score, it looked like Pollard had started a run of momentum that would be unbeatable.

That was when the crowd stepped up. Around the seven-minutes-left mark of the game, it was as though an invisible signal ran through everyone in attendance. Though the Lippy Lunatics had already been standing the whole game, the entire rest of the crowd rose to their feet. The energy in the arena reached peak levels – perhaps the highest that has been felt there for the past several years, after COVID devastated sports attendance.

The Bisons responded heartily to the energy, Williams and Ognacevic both draining three-pointers. This shrank the Royals’ lead from ten to just four, and senior guard Will Pruitt stepping to the line shortened it to two, making two free throws. Though the Royals would put up two more layups, a layup by Anderson followed by two more made free throws by Pruitt and two by Williams would bring the score to tied at 61.

The game continued, reaching the final few minutes of the second half. Bisons’ fans were on the edge of not their seats, but their rows, as everyone in the audience continued to stand and cheer on their team. The score tipped back and forth, caught in the one to two point dance yet again.

Then, with 25 seconds left in the second half, Ognacevic put up a layup that tied the score at 67. Though the Royals tried twice to score after that, missing both a three-pointer and a tip-in layup, the second half closed, tied at 67.

The fans exploded, screaming and cheering as the game went into overtime. The first four minutes of overtime continued in the same pattern of trading the lead back and forth. The Bisons and Royals took turns making shot after shot, until the Royals managed to tie it at 74 with just 58 seconds left.

Though the energy had been high already, it shot even higher as Williams stepped to the line to shoot two for the Bisons. He made both, and the crowd went wild.

In an attempt to force a possession, the Royals fouled Anderson with 23 seconds on the clock. This proved to be a mistake, as he calmly stepped to the line and made both free throws, stretching the Bisons’ lead yet again. With the Bisons now four points ahead, it would take a miracle for the Royals to win.

That miracle did not arrive, as another foul by the Royals – on Anderson again – saw him make both free throws, now with 15 seconds on the clock.

They fouled him one further time, and he made yet another free throw. The Bisons now led the Royals 74-81. Though the Royals would make one further free throw, the game closed with the score at 75-81.

The Bisons came from behind to pull off a win against the Royals that would move them up in the tournament bracket. This puts the Bisons in the ASUN finals for the first time since 2018. The game was a wild rollercoaster of emotion, suspense, and thrilling plays.

The crowd exploded, the Lunatics rushing from the stands to congratulate the Bisons on the court after the final buzzer. The energy surged through the roof, as the players, coaches, staff, and fans hugged and celebrated.

The Bisons’ final ASUN tournament game will be on Sunday, at 1 p.m. against UNA.