The Bisons were the victors tonight, but I wasn’t thrilled with the result. Lipscomb came out on top, 81-63, but they didn’t pull away until late in the second half. After a huge early run, LU limped into halftime ahead by 9, and Harding actually took a lead at one point early in the second half. Still, Lipscomb’s talent prevailed, and they rallied for the not-so-close victory in the end.
Matt Hall had 25 points and 7 rebounds, again leading Harding in both categories for the game. Hall is a deserving pre-season All-American, as he showed against two solid Division I programs. No other players reached double-digits in scoring for HU, with Rick Hamilton having 9 and Jesse Bynum 8. Off-nights by Brandon Sims and Cole Kee killed Harding’s shooting percentage (both were 1-for-8), and rebounds were not the strength that they were for HU against Northwestern State last week.
I may get around to posting stats for these exhibition games at a later date, but my goal right now is to preview the remaining teams in the division and finalize my methods for presentation before teams start playing games that count. For now, here’s a link to the box score on Lipscomb’s site. Posts for Arkansas-Monticello and Delta State still remain, and I’ll probably do a post with some predictions.
jfwiii.net 