March Madness unleashed: Bisons stunned as UNA seals victory with buzzer-beater in ASUN quarterfinals
The ASUN Conference Tournament quarterfinal clash at Allen Arena unfolded in a frenzy of last-second efforts, leaving the Bisons stunned and the Lions victorious with a narrow 77-75 victory. The term March Madness holds true. Owen McCormack’s three in the final seconds to take the lead gave North Alabama and former Bison KJ Johnson too much time as he nailed a floater at the buzzer to win the game.
Game Overview
Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Location: Allen Arena
Final Score: Lipscomb Men’s Basketball 75, North Alabama Lions 77
First Half
The Lions started the game on a 14-0 run. Lipscomb faced adversity when shots were failing to fall. Foul trouble for Dylan Faulkner and injuries at the 5-spot caused Lennie Acuff to go further down the bench than normal.
Ultimately, it was Joe Anderson that led the Bisons out of the rut with 18 points in the first half. Another note was Lipscomb walk-on Paxton Davidson’s three that cut the Lion lead to 8 points with 5 minutes to play in the first half. That alone didn’t stop the lions who were 10-16 from beyond the arc and had an answer for every Bison run.
Halftime: North Alabama 50, Lipscomb 43
Second Half
The second half was when the madness started. Will Pruitt and AJ McGinnis were the ones to get things flowing offensively. Lipscomb’s Davidson, with the support of a white out night crowd, had three blocks on the night giving the Bisons the defensive stops.
The turning point was McCormack’s back-to-back buckets that brought the score to 57-61 in favor of the Lions. From there, it was a back-and-forth battle to the very end. With every fan on their feet McCormack made a three pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game to tie things at 75 a piece. The Lions KJ Johnson attacked the basket on the other end to sink a floater at the buzzer to advance the Lions into the semifinals of the ASUN Championship Tournament.
Top Performers:
No.2 Will Pruitt led the Bisons with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
For the Lions it was no. 33 Damien Forrest who had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
The Bisons finish with back-to-back 20-win seasons at 20-12, 11-5 in conference play, and 12-2 in Allen Arena.
