SPORTS
Second Half Run Leads Lipscomb Past Men’s Basketball in NIT Opening Round
Davidson hosted Lipscomb in the opening round of the NIT.
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Lipscomb used a lengthy second-half run to rally past Davidson, 89-81, in the opening round of the 2019 Postseason NIT Tuesday evening inside John M. Belk Arena.
Despite the setback, Kellan Grady paced three Wildcats in double figures with a season-high 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including five of his club’s 12 3-pointers.
Luke Frampton also hit five triples and scored 19 points, while Luka Brajkovic added 15. Jon Axel Gudmundsson, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, just missed his 10th double-double with 9 points to go along with 10 assists and 7 rebounds.
After Frampton’s 3-pointer gave Davidson its largest lead, 62-53, with 12:38 to play, the Bisons responded with a 24-9 run to go in front for good.
The Wildcats got within three, 82-79 on Grady’s final trey of the game, but Lipscomb (26-7) responded with five straight to put the game out of reach with under a minute to play.
Michael Buckland led four Lipscomb players in double figures with 19 points.
Both teams shot better than 50 percent, but it was Lipscomb’s 18-of-22 effort from the charity stripe that made a difference.
In addition to making its 23rd postseason appearance, including 17th under head coach Bob McKillop, Davidson concludes the 2018-19 campaign 24-10 overall.
Lipscomb advances to face top-seeded UNCG.
