ASUN Basketball: Lipscomb, Liberty favorites in 2019 conference tournament
By Logan Butts
Players to Watch
Garrison Mathews – Lipscomb – 19.8 Points, 5.1 Rebounds
Mathews will almost certainly be named the ASUN Player of the Year when the league’s awards are announced. The ASUN’s top scorer knows how to get buckets, plain and simple.
He’s shooting 45 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point range, and nearly 85 percent from the field, so the points come efficiently and from all angles.
Scottie James – Liberty – 12.4 points, 8.9 rebounds
Speaking of efficiency, James has mastered the art. The Liberty big man is 10th in the country in field goal percentage at a 69 percent clip.
The Flames have a balanced group of scorers, but James has proven he can be the go-to guy down the stretch.
Zach Cooks – NJIT – 17.4 points, 4.9 rebounds
Cooks is the league’s top thief, averaging 2.5 steals per game, which is 14th in the country. He’s also the Highlanders leading scorer at 17.4 points per game.
He will probably be tasked with guarding Mathews on one end and leading the offense on the other if Lipscomb and NJIT were to meet in the second round.
Rob Marberry – Lipscomb – 14.6 points, 4.4 rebounds
Similarly to James, Marberry is very efficient in the post. The 6-7 center uses an array of post moves to maneuver around and muscle through taller opponents.
Marberry provides a strong scoring option down the stretch, playing an inside-outside game with Mathews to steady the Bison offense in crunch time.
Abdul Lewis – NJIT – 12.6 points, 9.3 rebounds
Lewis is the Highlanders’ bruiser, patrolling the paint for NJIT to the tune of nine double-doubles on the year. If NJIT is going to make a run to the ASUN finals, they’ll need both Lewis and Cooks at the top of their game.