Lipscomb Bests Mercer in Atlantic Sun Battle

J. Andrew Lockwood — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:29:09 -0500

It appeared that Mercer was hungry to erase the disappointment of losing to Lipscomb in front of a nearly sold out crowd last season when the Bears took a 45-38 lead into halftime. However, the Bison proved why they’re the team to beat in the Atlantic Sun with a come-from-behind 98-89 win in front of 2,000-plus fans in the University Center.

After a 40 point game on the road against Georgia Tech, senior guard James Florence got off to another hot start with 21 points in the first half and 32 for the night. Despite being the leader scorer for the night, Florence would be the Bears’ only big scoring threat as Jordan Burgason (31 points), Adnan Hodzic (25 points, 9 rebounds), and Josh Slater (24 points) would help Lipscomb pull away from Mercer in the second half.

“The great thing for us is it’s not the last game of the season,” said head coach Bob Hoffman after the game on MercerBears.com. “We have to get ready to go again.”

While the game was a tale of two halves, it certainly included an ESPN-worthy highlight reel. Early in the contest, Mercer blitzed Lipscomb with a 9-0 run to regain the lead, capped by a James Florence dunk in the middle of the lane through three Bison defenders. It was a thunderous dunk that brought the entire University Center to their feet for applause.

Late in the game, Mercer battled to cut the Lipscomb lead to four points with a Brian Mills sky-high dunk, but eventually Mercer couldn’t stop Lipscomb’s free throw shooting down the stretch as the Bison grabbed their first conference win of the season.

Mercer’s Jeff Smith put up a career high 16 points and nine rebounds on the night as Daniel Emerson added in 13 points while battling Hodzic in the paint for most of the night. The loss drops Mercer (3-4, 0-1) in the conference standings while the game was a much needed win for Lipscomb (2-4, 1-0).

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Atlantic Sun Conference: Players To Watch

Scott McGrath — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:33:46 -0500

This is the fourth installment of the Players to Watch series, featuring the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Ben Smith - Jacksonville

Senior Ben Smith is the clear leader of this Jacksonville team. He led the team in scoring and assists last season as a junior, and is doing the same thing so far as a senior. Smith has been playing 30 or more minutes per game since he was a freshman and has only been getting better.

He is the leader of the Dolphins, and his numbers certainly show why. Jacksonville has only played three games so far, but Smith has been stellar. He had a down game against California, scoring nine points, but the team only scored 47 total. However, against South Carolina, Smith exploded for 31 points, seven assists, and four steals.

Look for this kind of dominance to continue this season from Smith as Jacksonville will try to lead the Atlantic Sun again.

Tommy Hubbard - East Tennessee State

Hubbard is only a junior but he and fellow junior Justin Tubbs are clearly the leaders of this East Tennessee team. Hubbard did not play as much last season because of stand-out players Kevin Tiggs and Courtney Pigram, but he is seeing much more action this season and making the most of it.

Hubbard has already had four double-doubles this season, and dropped 26 points and 13 rebounds on Chattanooga in a tight loss. However, he outdid himself a few games later against Arkansas, a much tougher opponent, where he scored 32 points and added 10 rebounds in a win.

East Tennessee State should improve throughout the season behind the strong play of juniors Justin Tubbs and Tommy Hubbard.

Adnan Hodzic - Lipscomb

If Lipscomb wants to do anything this year, it will be behind the play of junior Adnan Hodzic. Hodzic was outstanding last season, and is continuing his dominance this season. Through five games, he has scored 18 or more points in each game while playing formidable opponents such as Ohio State and Vanderbilt.

Hodzic has two double-doubles already this season, and a 26-point performance against Elon. Look for the Bison to be strong again this season in conference play, where Hodzic should really start to take control of the team.

James Florence - Mercer

Florence, a senior at Mercer, can easily be argued as the best player in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and he is really starting to make a name for himself against big-time programs.

He is averaging 22 points per game this season, and had a 33-point game against Bucknell. More notably, Florence dropped 40 points on Georgia Tech.

Florence is the returning lead scorer of the Atlantic Sun, and with one more year under his belt, should improve upon that. Be sure to check out his stat-line after every game, as Florence is becoming the Stephen Curry of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

(Photo of James Florence by Rick Schmitt)

Read more Atlantic Sun Basketball news on BleacherReport.com

Bleacher Report - Atlantic Sun Basketball

Lipscomb Bests Mercer in Atlantic Sun Battle

Atlantic Sun Conference: Players To Watch