University of North Florida
Lipscomb
UNF can't power past Lipscomb
2/9/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2006
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Lipscomb guard trio of Eddie Ard, James Poindexter and Brian Fisk put the Bisons on their shoulders on Thursday night at Allen Arena, combining to score 56 points in a 75-65 win over North Florida in Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball action.
Ard led the Bisons (15-8, 11-5 A-Sun) with 21 points, while Fisk had 18 and Poindexter 17 to help keep Lipscomb a half game behind East Tennessee State in the conference standings with two weeks to play.
UNF (6-17, 3-13 A-Sun) got 24 points from junior forward Rashad Williams - his third 20-point performance in four games - but it wasn't enough to prevent the Ospreys from losing their 15th consecutive road game.
The Bisons unleashed a 3-point barrage against UNF's gimmick zone defenses, hitting just enough (7-of-35) to forge themselves out to a comfortable lead in the second half. UNF sliced a 19- point, second-half deficit to 10 points twice and 11 points on six different occasions, but Lipscomb had an answer each time.
Lipscomb outrebounded UNF 44-36 - including 18 on the offensive end - and had 20 more field goal attempts than the Ospreys, 74-54.
"They are a good team and made the plays tonight," UNF head coach Matt Kilcullen said. "When they need a shot, they hit it. When they needed a rebound, they got it. Their seniors made the difference."
Thanks to a cold-shooting first half by the Bisons from beyond the arc (3-of-19), UNF trailed only 35-29 at halftime, but the first four minutes of the second half proved to be a much different story.
Lipscomb hit six of its first seven shots to open the second frame, stretching its lead to 56-37 with 12:32 to play. UNF answered with a quick 10-1 run to pull within 10 points with 8:40 remaining, but the Ospreys could never crack the 10-point barrier.
Lipscomb shot 43 percent for the game (32- of-74), while UNF shot 39 percent (21-of-54). UNF was also cold from 3-point range, hitting just 3 of 20 attempts.
Ryan Daugherty added 16 points for UNF, while Alain Laroche just missed a double-double for the Ospreys with 15 points and nine rebounds.
UNF will remain in Nashville and play Belmont on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be aired in Jacksonville on WIOJ-AM 1010 and via the World Wide Web at www.UNFOspreys.com.
