Alice Lloyd Eagles Falter in Mideast Region Tournament

Wilmore, KY: On Saturday, February 25th, the Alice Lloyd Eagles journeyed to central Kentucky to battle the Asbury University Eagles in the finals of the NCCAA Mideast Region Tournament. The winner of the contest would receive the automatic bid to the upcoming NCCAA National Championship beginning March 15th in Winona Lake, Indiana. In a game where ALC never got on track, Asbury took the 88-70 decision.
The host club entered the contest fresh off an impressive 108-74 semi-final victory over Kentucky Christian University. In this contest, AU would pick up right where they left off as they jumped out to a quick 21-14 lead nine minutes in, sparked by the duo of Nick Fort and Clayton Winter.
AL would see junior forward Ben Soumahoro sink his first 4 shots to keep his club in striking distance, but foul trouble regulated him to the bench the remainder of the way, and in his absence, Asbury took advantage. The host Eagles would take a 38-28 lead into intermission.
In the second half, the Pippa Passes club would quickly counter with a bucket from senior forward Will Philpot, but Fort would answer with 8 consecutive points to put his squad ahead 46-30.
For most of the stanza, Asbury continued to shoot well, and they kept a safe cushion as the clock entered the home stretch. Late in the game, the Pippa Passes crew would finally make a run to get the deficit down to ten (80-70). However, forced to foul, the visitors saw the Wilmore bunch sink 8 consecutive free throws to put the game on ice.
For Alice Lloyd (14-15), they would place three in double figures. Soumahoro led his club with 17 points and added 3 assists. Philpot tossed in 10 points, while junior guard Jared Strickland also scored 10 points. Senior guard Bryce Slone led the squad with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Four different players had 1 steal each.
ALC shot 43.5% (27-62) from the field, including 38.9% (7-18) from behind the arc. They also shot 75% (9-12) from the foul line and added 23 rebounds, 14 assists, and 4 steals.
For Asbury (19-6), Fort and Winter scored 24 and 21 points, respectively. Their club shot 53% (35-66) from the floor and 26.3% (5-19) from behind the arc. They hit 81.3% (13-16) from the foul line, and also added 3 rebounds, 16 assists, and 19 steals.
The Eagles are now forced to wait and see if they receive an at-large bid to the national tournament. The field will be announced at the conclusion of regional play.