Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The free throw line was very kind to the Lipscomb Bisons.

Guard Jacob Arnett hit four-of-four from the line in the final 30 seconds and center Adnan Hodzic added a pair with four seconds to give the Bisons at 78-72 win over the Belmont Bruins Tuesday night at the Curb Event Center in the second installment of the “Battle of the Boulevard”.

Josh Slater scored a game-high 26 points with 12 coming on free throws. Hodzic added 25 with seven points on free throws. For the game the Bisons were 26-of-28 from the free throw line. The Bisons are 10-10, 7-4 in the A-Sun. Belmont falls to 11-10, 6-5.

The Bisons trailed 32-31 at the half. They twice took the lead in the early going, but could not maintain the advantage.The biggest lead for the Bruins was 13 points, when Keaton Belcher scored on a lay-up for a 52-39 edge with 12:30 left to play.

Slater started a rally of his own with 12:12 left to play. First he hit three free throws after being fouled as he attempted a 3-point shot. He followed that up with a lay-up at 11:35 to cut the Belmont lead to 52-44. Forward Michael Teller connected on a 3-pointer at 10:49 to pull the Bisons within five points, 52-47. Hodzic scored on a lay-up at 9:53 to pull the Bisons within three at 52-49. Slater extended the run to 9-0 when he hit a free throw to trim the Belmont lead to 52-50. Belmont answered with a 3-point shot for a 55-50 lead. Guard Jordan Burgason sank two free throws at 9:08 to make it 55-52.

The Bisons stayed close with Teller connecting on a 3-point shot from the corner with 6:05 remaining to cut Belmont's lead to one, 62-61. The Bruins answered with a 3-point shot, but Hodzic scored on a jump hook in the lane on the next possession to keep the Bisons close, 65-63 with 5:31 on the clock. With 3:57 left Slater once again went to the line and sank a pair of free throws to keep the Bisons within two at 67-65.