Game Highlights (Compliments of ASUN)
NASHVILLE, TN – The No. 2 seed Lipscomb Bison (20-12, 11-3 ASUN) shot 61.3% from the floor in a 97-66 win over No 7 seed NJIT (11-20, 3-11 ASUN) as the Highlanders saw their season come to an end in the ASUN Quarterfinals on Monday night at Allen Arena in Nashville.
Lipscomb hit 38-of-62 from the floor and 10-of-24 (41.7%) from beyond the arc, while NJIT hit 40.7% (24-59) of their shots and was 8-of-23 (34.8%) from three-point range.
The Bison came racing out of the gate in this one and hit 15 of their first 20 shots from the floor, including five three-pointers.
Sophomore guard
Garrison Matthews hit a layup with 8:28 left in the opening stanza to open up a 35-13 advantage for head coach
Casey Alexander's squad.
"When they get rolling and the threes are dropping, they're a very dangerous team," head coach
Brian Kennedy said.
However, NJIT did not go away and a 13-7 run capped by an
Anthony Tarke three-pointer cut the lead to 42-26 with 3:32 remaining in the first half.
The two teams traded baskets over the final few minutes of the half and Lipscomb took a 50-31 lead into the locker room.
Tarke paced the Highlanders with 21 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard
Reilly Walsh hit 4-of-6 from beyond the arc en route to a career-high 14 points and senior guard
Rob Ukawuba chipped in with 11 of his own. Sophomore center
Abdul Lewis added eight points and 13 rebounds for NJIT.
Walsh's 14 points topped his previous career-high of 10, which came in the Feb. 18 contest vs. Stetson.
In his final seven games, Tarke averaged 17.3 ppg and 6.3 rebounds per game. The Gaithersburg, Md., native led all ASUN freshmen in scoring during league play with 12.5 ppg and was named to the ASUN All-Freshmen team.
"Anthony is a real bright spot and he's got a bright future ahead of him. I look at this team and some of our newcomers: Lewis, Tarke and freshman guard
Shyquan Gibbs all started to play well at the end of the season," Kennedy added.
Matthews had a game-high 30 on 11-of-15 shooting to lead the way offensively for the Bison and was joined in double figures by
Rob Marberry and
Eli Pepper who added 14 apiece and junior guard Nathan Moran contributed 12 points.
In the second half, the Highlanders trailed 54-36 in the early stages before a quick 6-2 spurt capped by a tip-in from Tarke made it a 56-42 game with 15:09 to play.
The Bison responded with a 16-3 run over the next five minutes and Matthews buried a three to give the hosts a 72-45 advantage at the 10:30 mark.
Lipscomb outrebounded NJIT by a 38-34 margin, but Lewis notched a game-high 13 rebounds for the Highlanders.
To go along with Tarke's efforts, NJIT received key contributions from a number of players down the stretch after losing senior guard
Damon Lynn to a ruptured Achilles on Jan. 21.
"We're two years into being in a league and losing a player of Damon [Lynn's] magnitude and what he brings both on and off the court was probably a bigger vacuum than program who were in a conference and had deeper rosters," added Kennedy. "Damon is a special kid and he's a once in a generation player."
Lewis nearly averaged a double-double in conference play at 13.4 ppg and 9.4 rpg, while Gibbs averaged 6.8 points per game over his final nine contests.
Write-up courtesy of Joe Fitzhenry
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