Lipscomb Rallies for 67-64 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Win Over Visiting Campbell

NASHVILLE, TENN. - Michael Lusk's three with 12.6 seconds left gave Lipscomb its only lead of the second half and the Bisons rallied to defeat Campbell 67-64 in Atlantic Sun men's basketball action Thursday night at Allen Arena.

Russ Gibson's short jumper gave Campbell a 64-62 edge with 1:53 remaining, but Campbell (11-15, 6-10) failed to score in its final three possessions. Jason Hopkins hit both ends of a 1-and-1 opportunity with 1:06 left to knot the score at 64-all. After Jonathan Rodriguez' one-hander in the paint was blocked with 45 seconds to play, Lusk hit his only triple of the evening as the shot clock wound down.

For the second-straight game, Campbell had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Hopkins stole the ball as Eric Smith went up for a triple with three seconds left and the Bisons dribbled out the clock to win their second one-possession decision over Campbell this season. Last month, Lipscomb defeated the Camels 65-64 at Buies Creek, N.C.

Brian Fisk led Lipscomb (16-10, 10-5) with 18 points, including 4-of-8 threes, while Michael Teller came off the bench to add a career-high 17, including five threes, plus nine rebounds. Hopkins finished with 13 points.

Rodriguez scored 15 of his team-high 18 points in the second half. Reggie Bishop added 13 and Smith 12 for the Camels, who lost their second-straight after an 81-80 setback to Mercer on Saturday.

The three-point margin marks the sixth time in the last seven meetings between the schools that the game was decided by six, or fewer, points.

The Fighting Camels ended the first half on a 9-4 run to take a 31-26 lead at the break on Vejraska's three from the left wing. Campbell shot 47.6 percent from the floor (10-21) in the opening period and hit 5-of-11 threes. Lipscomb made just 29 percent (9-31) of its first-half shots, but stayed close by turning eight offensive rebounds into seven second-chance points.

CU extended the margin to nine (37-28) with 17:53 to go, but Lipscomb rallied and tied the game at 45 on Teller's triple with 11:36 to go. CU went in front seven times in the last 11:11 and the contest was tied on seven other occasions before Lusk's deciding triple.
Campbell shot 51.1 percent (24-47) from the field on the night, but made just 2-of-6 (.333) free throws in the final period. CU missed two front ends of 1-and-1 chances in the final half and hit just 8-of-16 from the stripe for the game. The Camels entered the contest as the top free throw shooting team in the league (.731).

Lipscomb hit just 40 percent (24-60) of its shots, just made 12-of-34 threes (.353) and held a 41-27 advantage on the boards. The Bisons converted 14 offensive rebounds into an 11-2 edge in second-chance points.

Campbell continues its two-game trip to Nashville on Saturday in a 4:00 p.m. (CST) start at Belmont.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Reggie Bishop: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#20 Russ Gibson: F; 6' 9"; Senior

#3 Jonathan Rodriguez: F; 6' 5"; Freshman

#11 Eric Smith: G; 6' 1"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#4 Reggie Bishop
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#20 Russ Gibson
: 6' 9"; Senior
: F

#3 Jonathan Rodriguez
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: F

#11 Eric Smith
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G