Men's Basketball 12/15/2020 12:00:00 AM

Trevecca Men's Basketball | Rival Lipscomb Holds off Trojans in Exhibition, at Findlay Thursday

Box Score

NASHVILLE – The Trevecca Nazarene University men's basketball team (0-3) faced long-time and cross-town rival Lipscomb University (3-5) for just the second time in the NCAA D2 Era, but for the second year in a row. The NCAA D1 Bison and former NAIA member with the Trojans we able to take a 61-45 decision in a game that counts for LU, but is an exhibition for the TNU.

SERIES HISTORY/NOTES

The two teams played multiple times a year in the NAIA era for both schools. The ties are excessive to those days and now.

Hank Hutcheson, a TNU freshman, is the son of LU athletic director Phillip Hutcheson. The elder Hutch was college basketball's all-time leading scorer when he finished. The Trojans and Bison battled a number of times during his career.

Bison freshmen Luke Howard is the brother of Trevecca freshmen, Anthony Howard. Both played for former Bison Greg Eubanks. The elder Eubanks son, Ed, is a sophomore on the Bison roster.

Trevecca sophomore Calvin Walker played at Alabama Huntsville, where he was recruited by current Bison head coach Lenny Acuff. Acuff coached a great run at UAH before taking the Lipscomb job. Walker played high school ball at Madison (Ala.) Academy for former Bison Andy Blackston.

Both Brendan Newton (Liberty) and Adam Webb Stetson) of Trevecca played for NCAA D1 programs in the ASUN conference before transferring to Trevecca. The ASUN is the same conference Lipscomb is in. Newton and Webb faced the Bison multiple times prior to transferring to Trevecca.

Gabriel McKay is the son of Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay and is obviously familiar with the great battles Liberty and Lipscomb have had on the hardwood the last few years.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a 4-0 LU start, the Trojans used a layup from Adam Webb and a three-pointer from Calvin Walker to close the gap to just one (6-5). Lipscomb rolled off seven straight to establish a 13-5 lead. Trevecca kept it close, but a 6-0 LU run pushed their lead to 11 (23-12) with 11:57 remaining in the half. Gabriel McKay sank a three-pointer with 8:35 left in the half to pull TNU to within six (25-19), but the Trojans scored just one basket before the half. The Bison didn't fare much better, but led 31-21 at the break.

Trevecca opened the second half with a 15-11 run, pulling to within six (42-36) with 13:15 to go. It was the best stretch of complete basketball for the Trojans in the game. A 7-0 run by the home team turned the game back in their favor, but the Trojans held Lipscomb to their lowest point total of the season outside of their games with Arkansas and Cincinnati.

PLAYER STATS BREAKDOWN

No Trojan reached double figures, but Austin Wills and Adam Webb each scored nine. Webb added seven rebounds while Brendan Newton grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and blocked three shots. Chris Rogers dished out four assists and Imani Starling distributed three while taking in five rebounds.

Romeao Ferguson led LU with 14 points while KJ Johnson (13) and Jake Wolfe (12) also reached double digits.

TEAM STATS BREAKDOWN

Both teams shot 56 attempts and struggled from the field with Lipscomb hitting 38% (21) and Trevecca 32% (18). Both teams hit six three-pointers. Two key categories when the way of the Bison. The hosts shot 16 free throws hitting 13 while Trevecca stepped to the line just four times hitting three. Lipscomb turned their 8-3 edge in steals to a 16-10 edge on points scored off of turnover.

WHAT'S NEXT

On Thursday, the Trojans will travel back to Findlay for a rematch against the Oilers that will not count towards Trevecca's Great Midwest record.

Two changes for the Trojans coming up. The team will not play at Ohio Dominican University on the 19th but instead will play at Ohio Valley University at 2 PM. The ODU game is not rescheduled at this time.

Trevecca's men's and women's doubleheader at Kentucky Wesleyan College on January 11th is now set for New Year's Eve in Owensboro, December 31st.

As always, check tnutrojans.com for all the latest changes.

MORE ABOUT THE TREVECCA TROJANS

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