Stetson Takes Down Lipscomb

Thursday night, the Hatters defeated the Lipscomb Bisons 91-83 to notch their second win in conference play. After dropping the previous game at Central Arkansas, the Hatters came out of the gate in good form, building an early 10-point lead just 8 minutes into the game. The Hatters’ ability to play great team basketball this early in a big game forced Lipscomb to respect everyone on the floor, which opened up opportunities beyond the three-point arc that all of the Stetson guards took advantage of. After their superb performance thus far, it was intriguing to see if the Hatters could extend their lead and break the game open. This is when star guard Jamie Phillips Jr. took over the game. Phillips’ ability to knock down deep threes and use his physicality to drive to the basket gave Lipscomb a ton of trouble, as it does for most opposing teams. He hit four threes in the first half, including a step back to beat the buzzer at the end of the half, which gave him 19 points at the break.

While Lipscomb made a ton of shots in the second half to keep themselves in the game, Ethan Copeland came on strong to keep the lead out of reach. With most of the defensive attention focused on Phillips Jr., Copeland’s quickness helped him get consistent buckets.   

Phillips Jr. was vital in the second half as a passer, but still made the clutch shots whenever Lipscomb brought the lead down to single digits. Instead of trying to force shots when he was having a career night, he created space and opportunities for his teammates to score,
which ultimately helped the Hatters maintain control of the game throughout.

Junior forward Finley Sheridan also continued his good play as of late. All three of his best performances this season have come in the Hatters’  ASUN games, but none bigger than against Lipscomb. While only playing 19 minutes due to foul trouble, Sheridan tallied 10 points along with seven rebounds. Lipscomb has a powerful and balanced rotation of big men, and
Sheridan was the presence that the Hatters needed to come out with the win.

The Hatters’ defense did a great job of forcing turnovers, which limited Lipscomb, especially in the first half. Guards Calvin Sirmans III, Jamie Phillips Jr., Ethan Copeland, and Daniel Macgregor all had at least two steals apiece.

Daniel MacGregor went 6-6 from the free-throw line in the last 30 seconds to secure the win. This is an area where the Hatters have struggled as a team this season, but since returning from injury, MacGregor has made clutch free throws and is 11-11 on the season.

Jamie Phillips Jr. had an incredible final stat line of 30 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 0 turnovers. His 30 points and 6 assists are both new career highs, which bring his ASUN stats this season to 27 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 3.7 apg.

The Hatters will need to keep up their complementary style of basketball to take down the top three teams in the conference at home.

Next up:
     vs. Austin Peay 1/10 (2:00 PM EST on ESPN+) 3-0 ASUN
     vs. West Georgia 1/15 (7:00 PM EST on ESPN+) 3-0 ASUN
     vs. Queens 1/17 (2:00 PM EST on ESPN+) 3-0 ASUN

**  Jamie Phillips Jr., who was averaging 25.5 points per game in conference play coming into the game, put up 19 in the first half, including a critical, vital three-pointer to beat the buzzer, extending the lead before half.