Inside the Numbers: Lipscomb at Queens

 

Lipscomb guard Gyasi Powell scored a career-best 23 -- including 21 in the second half -- in the Bisons' Saturday victory at Queens.  (Photo:  Lipscomb Athletics)

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CHARLOTTE – Cliches suck. Call it as it is.

However, the old “tale of two halves” story was as prevalent – and accurate – as ever Saturday afternoon in Curry Arena.

Following a huge momentum shift courtesy of a 12-0 Queens run at the end of the first half, everything changed – and quickly changed. Lipscomb tallied a staggering 61 second-half points and booked nearly 1.75 points per possession in the period, turning away Queens, 94-81, in a battle for a share of first place in the ASUN Saturday at Curry Arena.

“I thought they did a really good job executing the second half,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said after the game. “Hats off to them for having an unbelievable shooting half. They actually started the game like that, and then we really buckled down in the first half, the last eight to ten minutes. We weren't able to get that rhythm defensively in the second half. I thought that we started to guard the three, and then we started giving up straight-line drives, which is not like us.”

Now that you know what happened, let’s take a dive…Inside the Numbers!

• That second-half number is the story. Lipscomb’s 61 points in the stanza – though unconfirmed as of now – absolutely have to be a season-high. The Bisons scored 40 of those points in the first 10:49 of the half, opening a 10-point advantage at 73-63. More on the second-half performance in a bit – first, let’s examine the opening 20.
• To Leonard’s point, the Bisons started the game by wresting early control. Lipscomb seized the advantage just over five-and-a-half minutes into the game, eventually stretching the advantage to as many as seven points on two of all-leaguer Jacob Ognacevic’s first-half points. Queens set the nets ablaze from there, booking 21 of the final 26 points in the half and closing with 12 unanswered to take a 42-33 lead to the interval. Leo Colimerio tallied the first 11 of those 21 half-ending points.
• Queens dominated the hustle stats in that opening half. The Royals outscored the Bisons, 13-0, off turnovers while scoring on 60 percent of their first-half possessions. Queens’ bench also enjoyed a 13-0 advantage in the stanza. The Royals managed just four second-half points off Bison miscues and surrendered 10 points on turnovers in the second 20. Lipscomb also added 13 points in transition in the second half.
• Another notable second-half stat resulted in a career high. Jacksonville transfer Gyasi Powell struggled in the opening period, shooting just 1-for-7 and scoring two points. Powell also registered a minus-13 in the period. That completely flipped in the second period, as he shot 6-for-10 (4-for-6 from three) and finished with a career-best 23.

“In the end, it was the threes from Powell. It was the threes from the other guys that really crushed us,” Leonard said.

• Powell also took part in a sequence that served as a microcosm for much of the game. The Royals defended Lipscomb for 29 seconds of the possession before Powell attempted a layup. Lipscomb managed just three offensive rebounds in the contest, but one of those offensive rebounds fell into Powell’s hands, which he put back and collected a bucket and a foul. The sequence pushed Lipscomb’s lead from six to nine with just over two minutes to play, and the play largely ended Queens’ hopes for a comeback.

“They already had a decent cushion then, but when you're playing a team that executes like that, you can't give up easy layups,” Leonard said. “We gave up three backdoor cuts. Our game plan was not to be extended at all, so it was a couple different guys who are veterans. They’ve got to know better. The back cuts weren't acceptable. That’s something we'll watch on film, because if we're going to win championships, those little execution things have to happen defensively.”

• Lipscomb is as solid a team fundamentally as there is in this or any other league. The Bisons lived up to that label again Saturday, hitting 16-of-17 free throw tries. The solid performance from the stripe aided in the Bisons’ keeping their distance from the Royals. Queens, for their part, shot 17-of-25.
• Queens suffered a significant loss in Wednesday’s win at Central Arkansas. Forward Jaxon Pollard injured his hand and was unavailable for the game. He will likely be out for an extended period, which means forward Maban Jabriel will be called on to fill in not just for Pollard’s role in the paint, but in bringing energy to the Royals. Saturday was a bit of a mixed bag.

“There were good spurts and bad spurts, which is pretty typical for a freshman, I thought,” Leonard said. “When we went on that run in the first half, his energy was high. He won a couple of 50-50 rebounds and loose balls, and I was really proud of him for that. I don't think yet that he's quite ready to do it for a full 40 minutes for an entire game, and we've got to get him there. He’s going to have to play more while Jaxon's out, and hopefully Jaxon can be back soon. Maban’s got to just continue to grow and get better.”

• Queens didn’t get the result it wanted but still has a lot to play for in its final campaign before gaining NCAA tournament eligibility.

“I told our guys in the locker room, winning championships is about the tough stuff,” Leonard said.

Powell’s 23 led all Lipscomb scorers. Joe Anderson booked 21 to join Powell in doubles. Will Pruitt sank 6-of-10 from the deck and all six tries from the stripe to tally 19, while Ognacevic collected his third double-double in the last five games by scoring 18 and corralling 10 caroms. Charlie Williams added 10 in the Bisons’ victorious effort.

Colimerio paced all scorers on the day with 26 for the Royals. The grad transfer sank 10-of-15 tries from the deck and hit all three of his three-point tries. Kalib Mathews tallied 14 on 4-of-9 shooting and 5-of-7 from the line, while Bryce Cash and Chris Ashby added 11 apiece.

Both teams return to play Thursday. Lipscomb hosts Stetson in Allen Arena in Nashville, with a tip time set for 8:15 (Eastern) and coverage over ESPN+. Queens travels to Freedom Hall in Louisville to take on Bellarmine in a 6:30 tilt which will be streamed by ESPN+.

LIPSCOMB 94, QUEENS 81

LIPSCOMB (17-8, 9-3 ASUN)

Williams 3-5 2-2 10, Ognacevic 7-11 1-1 18, Pruitt 6-10 6-6 19, Powell 7-17 5-6 23, Anderson 8-11 2-2 21, White 1-3 0-0 3, Suber 0-1 0-0 0, Boylan 0-1 0-0 0, Houck 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-59 16-17 94.

QUEENS (15-10, 8-4)

Colimerio 10-15 3-5 26, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Mathews 4-9 5-7 14, Cash 4-6 3-4 11, Ashby 5-9 0-0 11, Mann 2-5 0-0 5, Jabriel 2-4 1-1 6, Berman 1-5 5-8 8, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Nevill 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-53 17-25 81.

Halftime:  Queens 42-33. 3-Point goals:  Lipscomb 14-30 (Williams 2-3, Ognacevic 3-4, Pruitt 1-3, Powell 4-10, Anderson 3-5, White 1-3, Suber 0-1, Boylan 0-1), Queens 8-17 (Colimerio 3-3, Mathews 1-4, Ashby 1-2, Mann 1-1, Jabriel 1-3, Berman 1-4). Fouled out:  Williams (LU).  Rebounds:  Lipscomb 29 (Ognacevic 10), Queens 24 (Jabriel 7). Total fouls:  Queens 19, Lipscomb 18. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Queens 17, Lipscomb 10.  Points in the paint:  Queens 34, Lipscomb 30. Second-chance points:  Lipscomb 10, Queens 4.  Fast-break points:  Lipscomb 13, Queens 5.  Bench points:  Queens 19, Lipscomb 3.