Alice Lloyd Eagles Fall Short at Point Park University

Pittsburgh, PA: The Alice Lloyd Eagles put up a valiant effort, but finally fell to the highly-regarded Point Park University Pioneers, 72-68.  The River States Conference matchup took place on Saturday, January 4th.

The Pippa Passes Eagles came out determined to play well, only to observe the hosts ride the shooting of guard Jalen Stamps andsprint out to a double-digit cushion. However, behind the one-two punch of senior Colyn Sturgill and junior forward Ben Soumahoro, ALC would get within two (27-25). 

Unfortunately, the hosts would close the half with a 10-2 spurt,and enter the locker room for intermission with a solid 37-27 advantage.

In desperate need of a spark, Sturgill and senior forwardDamon Tobler would provide the much-needed infusion. as theKentucky boys began to rally. Disappointingly for the visitors, after seeing their lead reduced to three points, Point Park managed to pull back out to a big advantage with just eight minutes showing.

Trailing 56-45 with 8:22 remaining in the contest, ALC would dig deep yet again, clamp down on defense, and claw their way back. Miraculously, the Bluegrass boys would get within a single bucket late. Sadly, PPU would hit three late charity tossesto finally pull out, and hold on for the close win. 

For Alice Lloyd (12-12; 6-8 RSC), they would place three in double-figures. Sturgill was a dominant force on the floor as the big center sank 8-10 field goals (1-1 3FG) and 4-4 free throws to lead everyone with a career-high 21 points. He also added 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in a complete performance. 

Tobler finished with 17 points while Soumahoro added 13 points and 6 rebounds. Senior forward Will Philpot grabbed 11 boards while senior guard Bryce Slone recorded 3 assists. Three players had one steal each.

The stats were quite close. ALC shot 40.3% (27-67) from the field, including 26.7% (4-15) from behind the arc. They sank 71.4% (11-15) from the foul line and added 46 rebounds, 10 assists, 6 steals, and 4 blocks.

The Pioneers (20-5;11-3 RSC) were led by Stamps with 17 points. His club shot just 36.6% (26-71) from the floor and 27.8% (5-18) from behind the arc. They hit 78.9% (15-19) from the foul line, and also added 46 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 blocks, and 2 steals. 

ALC is off for a much-needed break until Saturday, February 11th. They will look to get back on the winning path when they host the Ohio Christian University Trailblazers on 'Senior Day". Tipoff for this critical conference battle is set for 3:00pm.