Queens: 2026 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Chris Ashby made 10 3-pointers and scored 34 points to lead Queens University to a men's NCAA tournament berth in its first year of eligibility with a 98-93 overtime win over Central Arkansas in the Atlantic Sun tournament despite allowing 49 points to Camren Hunter.

Lipscomb: 2024-25 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Joe Anderson scored 12 of his team-high 23 points in the final four minutes to help power top-seeded Lipscomb to a 76-65 victory over North Alabama on Sunday to win the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament championship and claim an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

The Bisons (25-9) finished tied with North Alabama (24-10) for the regular-season championship with 14 wins and were the No. 1 tournament seed. Lipscomb needed overtime to get past sixth-seeded Queens in the semifinals. The Lions were seeded second and beat fourth-seeded Jacksonville to reach the final.

Jacari Lane's jumper gave North Alabama the lead with 11:46 left, and Donte Bacchus converted a three-point play for a 53-49 advantage. Jacob Ognacevic hit three of four free throws and Will Pruitt hit from 3 for a 55-53 lead and Gyasi Powell hit a 3 with 4:13 left to put Lipscomb in front for good.

Anderson hit from deep to make it 65-60 and then hit from 3 in a 7-0 run to take a 10-point lead with 1:34 left and converted 3-of-4 from the line in the final minute.

Anderson was 6-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-7 from deep, and hit 7-of-8 from the line with 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots to lead Lipscomb. Pruitt was a perfect 10-for-10 from the line and finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Powell hit 4-of-6 from 3-point range to add 16 points and Ognacevic had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Lane finished with 18 points and Corneilous Williams scored 15 points with seven rebounds to lead North Alabama. Will Soucie had 10 points with six boards and Taye Fields pulled down 12 rebounds to go with his six points.

Stetson: 2023-24 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

 

DELAND — DeLand is a basketball town. At least for the time being.

ASUN Conference leading scorer Jalen Blackmon erupted for 43 points, 34 of which came in the second half, and the Hatters hit just enough free throws down the stretch to preserve a 94-91 win over Austin Peay in the ASUN Championship game on Sunday afternoon in the Edmunds Center.

With the win, Stetson earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history and will await its first-round matchup next Sunday in the NCAA Selection Show.

Stetson trailed by as many as 10 in the first half but Blackmon caught fire in the second, scoring 16 straight Hatter points to keep Stetson afloat and hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds to preserve the win. A last-ditch heave from the hash for the Governors went begging as the horn sounded and a near-capacity crowd exploded, rushing the court to celebrate.

Aubin Gateretse and Stephan Swenson each had 13 points for Stetson with Alec Ogleby adding 10. Sai Witt led Austin Peay with 28 points to go with 10 rebounds. Dezi Jones (17), Demarcus Sharp (16), Isaac Haney (13) and Ja'Monta Black (11) each hit double figures for the Governors as well.

Kennesaw State: 2022-23 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

 

The Kennesaw State men’s basketball team is going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Terrell Burden hit a free throw with 0.7 seconds remaining to lift the Owls past Liberty 67-66 on Sunday in front of a school-record announced attendance of 3,805 to win the ASUN Tournament and earn their automatic invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

Supporters wearing gold and black were crammed into every possible space of the Convocation Center to witness Kennesaw State playing in its first conference title game in arguably the most important game in school history.

Despite having little experience with success in Division I basketball – the program went 1-28 in 2019-20 – the students and others turned the arena into a hostile environment Sunday.

After the victory, players ran around the court holding up their phones to record the moment. Parents and loved ones flooded the court to exchange hugs and handshakes.

The Owls will learn where they will go and who they will play on the March 12 NCAA selection show.

The victory was secured when Burden, a senior who went to Campbell High, was fouled driving to the basket by Liberty’s Isiah Warfield. Burden hit the first and missed the second. He finished with a team-high 19 points. Chris Youngblood followed with 16 points, Brandon Stroud 12 and Demond Robinson 10.

Kennesaw State built a five-point lead with 1:34 remaining.

Liberty’s Darius McGhee, the conference player of the year and one of the best shooters in NCAA history, hit an acrobatic layup to cut the Owls’ lead to three with 1:28 left.

Stroud was fouled by Ben Southerland. Stroud hit both free throws to give the Owls a five-point lead with 1:04 remaining.

Stroud fouled McGhee on Liberty’s next possession. He hit both free throws to again cut Kennesaw State’s lead to three with 56.8 seconds remaining.

Burden turned over the ball on Kennesaw State’s next possession.

The Flames took advantage with a 3-pointer by Colin Porter to tie the game at 66 with 25 seconds remaining.

With the shot clock turned off, Burden held onto the ball until his final drive.

Making the NCAAs caps a remarkable turnaround led by coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. He was the one who was at the helm for the one-win season in which the Owls finished 352nd out of 353 teams in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings.

Rahim, who played at Wheeler High, led the team to five wins the next season, 13 the next and 26, so far, this season.

Bellarmine: 2021-22 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- CJ Fleming scored a career-high 27 points, Dylan Penn added 22 and Division I newcomer Bellarmine defeated Jacksonville 77-72 in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament final on Tuesday, handing the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament to regular-season champion Jacksonville State.

Bellarmine is not eligible for the NCAA tournament as it is in the second of a four-year transition to Division I. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the Louisville, Kentucky-based school is the first men's team in the past 25 seasons to win its conference tournament while being ineligible for postseason play.

Instead, the Knights became heroes in Jacksonville, Alabama. Top-seeded Jacksonville State fell at home 54-51 to the Jacksonville Dolphins on Saturday, but since Bellarmine is ineligible for the NCAA tournament, the Gamecocks will go dancing.

"We've made it a point to control what we can control, and that's it," Bellarmine senior guard Juston Betz said. "We'll continue to be in the moment and never take for granted where we are."

Bellarmine, a recent Division II power and 2011 champion, defeated Liberty, the other ASUN division champion, 53-50 on the road on Saturday. Jacksonville, which joined the ASUN in 1998, was seeking its first league championship and first NCAA berth in 36 years.

Including its Division II history, this marks Bellarmine's 13th 20-win campaign in the past 14 seasons.

"It's kind of surreal," said Penn, who was named tournament MVP. "It feels like we're in a movie. We weren't supposed to be competing at such a high level this early."

The Knights (20-13) made 11 of 12 free throws in the last two minutes with Fleming perfect on eight, to hold off Jacksonville, which made 5 of 8 field goals, two of them 3s, down the stretch.

Jordan Davis scored 22 points for the Dolphins (21-10), who lost the only regular-season meeting 76-73 in overtime in the same building, and Osayi Osifo and Tyreese Davis had 11 each.

Penn, Betz and Curt Hopf hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Bellarmine a 9-4 lead, and Sam DeVault added back-to-back triples as the Knights started red-hot. Penn's layup midway through the first half made it 28-10 with the Knights going 10-of-14, seven of the baskets behind the arc.

Jacksonville battled back to get within 36-26 at the half, despite going 0-of-10 from 3-point range compared to 9-of-16 for Bellarmine.

The Dolphins hit six 3s in the second half and shot 50% but could get no closer than six.

The Knights finished shooting 50% overall and were 12-of-25 from 3-point range and 15-of-17 from the foul line.

"I don't know how any coach at any level of any sport could be more proud than I am," Bellarmine coach Scott Davenport said. "My highlight of this journey is seeing this team celebrate each other. That locker room was one of the highlights of my life."

Liberty: 2021 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- — Chris Parker scored 16 points and Liberty beat Stetson 77-64 on Friday in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament semifinals and later earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament when North Alabama reached the title game.

North Alabama, a 96-81 winner over Florida Gulf Coast, is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament because it is in a four-year Division I transition period.

Blake Preston added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Darius McGhee added 13 points and nine assists to help Liberty (22-5) reach a conference championship game for the fourth straight season.

Christiaan Jones had 20 points for the Hatters (11-14). Chase Johnston added 16 points.

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Liberty: 2019-20 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

'LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Liberty is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, but there is a big difference between them making it last year and doing it again.

Expectations.

"Any time you have a target on your back or you're the team that's expected to win, it's hard," coach Ritchie McKay said after the Flames took command with a long first-half run and beat Lipscomb 73-57 in the ASUN championship Sunday.

"It's hard to operate, navigate those expectations," said McKay, whose team was picked to win the league. "Our group showed its emotional maturity. This afternoon was just a reflection of the growth that occurred in our guys."

Caleb Homesley and Elijah Cuffee each scored 16 points and Darius McGhee had 13, helping the Flames earn their fifth NCAA Tournament bid.

For Cuffee, it was a season high, and his first game in double figures since he scored 11 points in a blowout win against Kennesaw State on Jan. 30.

"I was so excited for him," Homesley said. "He needed that game. He really did, especially for it to be that high caliber of a game."

After close wins in the tournament quarterfinals and semifinals, Homesley said the key for the Flames was focusing on having a good time.

"The last two games, they were close, they were hard-fought and I felt like we had a little bit of fun, but we didn't match our full potential," he said. "I told them tonight, let's just go out there, let's just have fun and we'll win the gme."

The Flames (30-4) set a school record for victories in a season. They also avenged a 77-71 loss at Lipscomb to finish the regular season.

"I thought they were fantastic today. We hit a buzzsaw for sure. ... They were locked in and ready to go," first-year Bisons coach Lennie Acuff said.

Ahsan Asadullah scored 22 and grabbed nine rebounds despite foul trouble for the Bisons (16-16), and Andrew Fleming scored 15. It was Lipscomb's third consecutive championship appearance and second straight loss to Liberty.

The Flames led 16-14 when Homesley's layup with 11 minutes left in the first half sparked a 29-12 run the rest of the half. Homesley scored 12 in the burst, including the first seven, and Cuffee had eight of his 10 in the half.

"They were making everything they took for awhile," Acuff said.

Trailing 45-26 at the half, Lipscomb scored the first seven points of the second half as the Flames missed their first seven shots, but McGhee settled them with back-to-back 3-pointers and they stayed comfortably ahead therafter.

"That was kind of it," Acuff said of McGhee's 3-pointers, which made it 51-35.

"In my mind I was just focused on getting a great shot, whether it was me or somebody else," McGhee said. "Luckily I just came up with both of those shots."

The result ensured it was the Flames' final game in the Vines Center after 30 years. The school is building a 4,000- to 4,500-seat arena next door that will open next season, and the crowd of 7,728 that roared all game long charged out onto the court as the final horn sounded.

BIG PICTURE

Lipscomb: The Bisons did themselves in in the first half with nine turnovers that the Flames turned into 18 points. That left them with a 16-point disadvantage off miscues since the Flames turned it over just twice, leading to two points. Liberty finished with a 20-7 edge on points of turnovers.

Liberty: The Flames won their first game in the NCAA Tournament last season and will be dangerous again this year. Their defense, patterned after Virginia's Pack Line, finished second nationally to the Cavaliers, allowing just 53.7 points. They shot 53.8% (28-52) and 40.7% on 3-pointers, making 11 of 27 on Sunday.

UP NEXT

Lipscomb will wait to see if a postseason bid is forthcoming.

Liberty is heading to the NCAA Tournament.

Liberty: 2018-19 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Scottie James' layup with 55.8 seconds left put Liberty ahead to stay and the Flames capped their first season in a new conference by topping Lipscomb 74-68 Sunday for the ASUN Tournament championship and their first NCAA Tournament trip since 2013.

A year after losing the Big South Conference tournament final on a 3 at the buzzer, Liberty won at packed Allen Arena in a game that featured 18 lead changes in the second half. The Flames won for the second time this season on Lipscomb's home court.

Liberty (28-6) switched to the ASUN Conference for this season and split the regular season title with Lipscomb. The Flames earned their fourth NCAA Tournament bid overall and first since playing in the Big South.

The Flames, from Lynchburg, Virginia, were up 29-28 at halftime and never led by more than four.

Garrison Mathews, the ASUN player of the year, made a pair of free throws with 1:31 left to give Lipscomb its last lead at 66-65. James then scored, and Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz hit a 3 with 14.8 seconds remaining for a 70-65 lead. James added two free throws with 8.4 seconds to go for the final margin.

James led Liberty with 17 points. Pacheco-Ortiz added 16, Lovell Cabbil Jr. had 14 and Caleb Homesley 11.

Lipscomb (25-7) was trying to seal its second NCAA Tournament berth. The Bisons beat Florida Gulf Coast on the road last year in the ASUN Tournament championship game.

The Bisons led 28-20 with 4:52 left in the first half. Liberty scored the final nine capped by a layup by Cabbil giving the Flames a 29-28 halftime lead.

Matthews finished with 21 points, Rob Marberry had 18 and Kenny Cooper 14 for Lipscomb.

BIG PICTURE

Liberty: The Flames play some of the best defense in the country, coming in ranked fifth nationally giving up just 60.5 points per game. They showed off just how disruptive they can be against Lipscomb.

Lipscomb: Now the Bisons have to sit, wait and hope that a NET ranking of 42 along with victories at SMU, then-No. 18 TCU, Navy and Vermont help them earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

NCAA Tournament bracket announcement on March 17.

Lipscomb: 2017-18 Atlantic Sun Men's Basketball Champions

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Madness.

That's the only way to explain this. Lipscomb led by 29 points at halftime, went up by 32 in the second half, then saw the lead get shredded down to five -- on the road against a Florida Gulf Coast program that has squeezed the utmost from nearly every opportunity it has gotten in March since becoming the "Dunk City" NCAA darlings five years ago.

"We've experienced every emotion imaginable," Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said.

With that, it's time to experience another: The Bisons are going to the NCAA tournament for the first time.

Garrison Mathews scored 33 points and the second-seeded Bisons -- once on the brink of all-out collapse -- recovered just well enough in the final minutes to beat top-seeded FGCU 108-96 in the Atlantic Sun Conference title game on Sunday and win the league's automatic berth into the field of 68.

Lipscomb (23-9) shot 65 percent from the field, an utterly ridiculous 87 percent from 2-point range, and took 47 free throws to FGCU's 28 on the way to dethroning the two-time reigning A-Sun champion Eagles (23-11).

"Couldn't be happier," Alexander said. "Someone asked me how I was feeling. I don't even know."

He's got time to figure it out. Selection Sunday isn't for another week, and Lipscomb will be one of the teams on the bracket line.

"It was huge for us to keep our composure," Mathews said.

There are games of runs -- and then there was this game, which went about as wildly back-and-forth as one can get.

In the first half, Lipscomb went on a 52-21 run to go up by 32. And just about every bit of that was needed, given that FGCU put together a 42-15 run of its own in the second half.

But the Bisons, who won twice on FGCU's floor this season, didn't crumble.

"An excellent performance," FGCU coach Joe Dooley said. "They got on a roll. I compliment them. I congratulate them."

Kenny Cooper scored 17 for Lipscomb, which made 15 of its first 18 shots. Rob Marberry and Matt Rose each scored 14 points and Eli Pepper finished with 13 for Lipscomb, which won despite giving up 65 points in the second half.

Zach Johnson tied an FGCU school record with 37 points, 29 of those coming after halftime. Brandon Goodwin added 34 for the Eagles, who were bidding for a fourth NCAA trip in the last six seasons.

Afterward, Johnson struggled containing his emotions when talking about FGCU's senior class.

"I feel like we didn't send them off right," Johnson said. "Yes, we've got the NIT, but they just mean everything to me. They're my brothers."

Mathews made his first four shots, three of them 3-pointers, in the first five minutes to set the tone for the Bisons, and he was up to 26 points by halftime.

The game was over.

Problem was, no one told FGCU.

The Eagles -- still down by 32 with 16:33 remaining -- went from finished to fighting to flourishing in the blink of an eye. Johnson scored 17 points in 3½ minutes by himself, but even after that flurry FGCU still found itself down 19.

So they kept digging. Another 3-pointer from Johnson with 10:29 left cut the lead to 10. Goodwin's layup a minute later got it back to single digits for the first time in forever. Goodwin then connected on three 3-pointers in a 2-minute span, the last two of those getting the Eagles within five.

But they got no closer.

"Thankfully," Alexander said, "the clock ran out."

BIG PICTURE



Lipscomb: The Bisons (yes, they use the plural, not Bison) won the title on the 12th anniversary of their only other appearance in the A-Sun title game, a loss to Belmont on March 4, 2006. Alexander was an assistant on that Belmont team. ... Cooper was 11 for 16 from the foul line, and had nine assists.

FGCU: The Eagles lost for only the third time in their last 19 games, that run coming after a 7-8 start to the season. ... This was FGCU's sixth trip to the Atlantic Sun title game in seven seasons of eligibility.

NO SLUMPS

Lipscomb missed three consecutive shot attempts in one stretch -- its last two of the first half and its first of the second half. That was the longest "slump'' by the Bisons all afternoon.

UP NEXT

Lipscomb: On to the NCAA tournament.

FGCU: Earned an automatic NIT berth as the regular-season conference champion.