Thursday, March 02, 2006

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Lipscomb held serve as the top seed in first-round action of the 2006 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Men’s Basketball Championship with a 78-62 win over No. 8 Mercer on Thursday afternoon in Memorial Center.

Eddie Ard and Brian Fisk continued their hot play for the Bisons (21-9). Each scored 18 points and was instrumental in Lipscomb’s second-half surge.

A 30-11 run by the Bisons spanning the first and second halves was the difference in the game. Before that, the Bears were refusing to play the role of underdog.

Mercer (9-20) scored the first four points of the game and kept the score close through the final media timeout of the opening half. From there, however, the Bisons got on a roll.

With the game tied at 19, Ard and Fisk hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the rally. Mercer didn’t lay down, but momentum had shifted in favor of the Bisons, who outscored the Bears 12-7 by the break.

What started in the first half, continued into the second. Lipscomb scored the first eight points after intermission and an 18-4 start ran the Bisons’ lead to 49-30.

Again, it was Ard and Fisk doing most of the damage, combining for 12 of the 18 points in that time frame.

For the game, Fisk hit 7-of-12 shots and extended his school record of consecutive games in double-figure scoring to 23. He also had four rebounds and two assists.

Ard was even better, making 7-of-11 shots to go with five boards, five steals and a pair of assists.

The duo was just the icing on a nice all-around effort by the Bisons.

Lipscomb hit 49 percent of its shots from the floor and slightly outrebounded Mercer, 33-28. The Bisons also kept control of the ball and committed only nine turnovers compared to 17 by Mercer.

Despite falling behind, Mercer attempted one last shot at pulling off the upset. A 3-pointer by Andrew Brown with 8:32 remaining spurred a 7-0 run by the Bears. The Lipscomb lead was trimmed to 15 at that point, but Mercer couldn’t sustain the rally.

Brown paced Mercer with 12 points. Brian Pfohl was the only other Bear in double-figures with 10 points. Montavius Waters was close to a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds.

General Notes
• Even with the win, Lipscomb still fights an uphill battle. A No. 1 seed has not won the A-Sun tournament since the league changed its name in 2002.
• After a slow-shooting first half, Lipscomb rebounded by hitting 55 percent of its shots in the second half.
• The No. 1 seed improves to 43-16 in tournament games. No. 8 seeds are now 5-22.
• The final score was close to the identical 83-66 margins in the teams’ regular-season meetings.
• Lipscomb and Mercer’s series record is now knotted 4-4.

Lipscomb Notes
• This is Lipscomb’s first-ever win in Atlantic Sun Championship play. The Bisons were 0-1.
• Brian Fisk and Eddie Ard have scored 52 points each in three games this season versus Mercer.
• Lipscomb is now 3-0 when playing on neutral courts.
• The Bisons are 11-0 when scoring 70 or more points and 9-3 when allowing fewer than 70.
• Ard’s five steals give him a team high 53 for the season. He also maintains his .2 points per game edge over Fisk for team lead in scoring.
• Either Fisk or Ard have led the Bisons in scoring 22 times. They are 15-7 in those games.

Mercer Notes
• Mercer’s season ends at 9-20.
• The Bears all-time A-Sun tournament record is 20-20.
• Mercer shot 45 percent from the field against Lipscomb, exceeding the league-best 42.6 percent allowed by the Bison’s this year.
• The Bears fall to 0-8 when scoring less than 70 points.
• Mercer finished the season with a three-game losing streak.
• Bears guard Andrew Brown led the team in scoring for the 11th time this season. They are 2-9 in those games.

Post-Game Audio

Lipscomb Head Coach Scott Sanderson

on team preparation

on beating Mercer 3 times

on LaKory Daniels' play

Lipscomb sophomore Eddie Ard

on using defense to cultivate offense

Lipscomb sophomore LaKory Daniels

on his growth during the season

Mercer Head Coach Mark Slonaker

on Mercer-Lipscomb matchup

on Lipscomb's defense