Bisons stampede over Ospreys in conference bout

Bruce Hope, Sports Reporter

Khorri Newton
Junior Ezekiel Balogun lines up in his lane for the free throw.

The Lipscomb Bisons walked into UNF arena undefeated in ASUN conference play and played as if they were determined to stay that way.  The Bisons opened the game with a three-pointer and continued their hot shooting from beyond the arc, leading to a 92-55 win.

The first half saw Lipscomb shoot just 42 percent from the floor but make eight threes at a 53 percent clip.  Senior Garrison Mathews led the way with 14 first half points.

Redshirt-Junior guard JT Escobar had five first half points to lead the Ospreys in the opening stanza.

Ospreys leading scorer, Junior Noah Horchler, and his frontcourt mate, Junior Wajid Aminu, did not have their typically strong impacts with both only grabbing three rebounds.

UNF was ice cold in the first half, making only nine of 28 shots and five of 15 threes.

They were also outrebounded 15-23 and turned the ball over 10 times to the Bisons two.  The Ospreys went into the break down by 24 and looking for adjustments and a spark to try and climb back into the game in the second half.

The second half saw a lot of the same, with the lead ballooning to as many as 45 points.

Mathews led the way for the Bisons with 22 points before sitting out much of the second half with the lead comfortably in hand.

UNF finished the game on the losing end of just about every statistical category.

The Ospreys were outrebounded by 20, committed five more turnovers, and scored 12 less points in the paint.

UNF Men’s Basketball Head Coach Matthew Driscoll talked to Spinnaker about the loss.

“I thought they came out in the second half and punched us and we never responded. And that was it; the game was over,” Driscoll said.   

The loss drops UNF to 9-16 (3-7 ASUN) and improves Lipscomb to 19-4 (10-0 ASUN)

UNF looks to bounce back and to get back on the winning track Saturday at North Alabama in a 7 p.m. tip-off.

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