Alice Lloyd Eagles journey to Carolina University

Winston Salem, NC:  On Tuesday, February 20th, the Alice Lloyd Eagles journeyed to the Tar Heel state to face the Carolina Bruins in NCCAA action. The Eagles fell behind by over twenty points at the half before rallying to tie the game. Unfortunately, Carolina would hang on for the 73-70 upset.

In the opening stanza, the Eagles chalked up what may be their poorest shooting half of the season, as they could not throw the ball in the ocean. To compound the situation, CU came out of the gates on fire, led by guard Cameron Parker. The big city club would jump out to a 25-7 lead by the midway point.

The next ten minutes offered little relief as the Caney Creek crew remained frigid. When the buzzer finally sounded to signal intermission, the Kentucky boys trailed by a stunning margin of 43-22. They finished the half only shooting 26%, as opposed to the home club and their blistering 61.5% accuracy.

In the second stanza, the Pippa Passes posse would look like a completely different squad as they attempted to fight back. Fueled by hot-shooting from senior guard Jared Strickland, ALC came out like gangbusters.

The Bluegrass boys tightened up on the defensive end and gave Carolina no open looks. They used this great effort to shrink the deficit to single digits by the ten-minute mark. Suddenly, things did not look as bleak.

From there, ALC utilized senior forward Ben Soumahoro and freshman forward Jackson Tackett, and both would deliver key buckets in the paint. Miraculously, when junior forward Devonte Robinson scored and drew a foul with 5:00 remaining, the contest was tied up at 62-62.

Unfortunately, in the final minutes, Carolina managed to drain a huge trifecta to regain some momentum as they clung to their advantage. Eventually, with :08 left to play, Alice Lloyd would foul, trailing 72-70.

Carolina's Parker went to the line and swished the first attempt (73-70) However, when his second toss bounced off, the Kentucky boys had one more shot. Unfortunately, after advancing the ball to their end of the court, the Eagles were not able to launch an attempt in time to tie. The horn then sounded, handing the Bruins a win.

Alice Lloyd (12-15), would place three in double figures. They were led on the day by Strickland, who finished with 18 points (6-11 FG; 5-9 3FG). He added 4 steals. Soumahoro finished 6-7 from the floor to register 13 points, while Tackett  (4-6 FG) was just behind, as he chipped in with 12. Freshman guard Landon Napier contributed 7 rebounds, while senior guard Brady Nelson had 3 assists.

The Pippa Passes club shot 48.1% (26-54) from the field and 32% (8-32) from beyond the arc.   After their horrid first-half shooting woes, they came back by drilling an amazing 75% (18-24) in the second half. Unfortunately, they shot themselves in the foot by only sinking 50% (10-20) from the charity stripe. They snared 27 rebounds, handed off 9 assists, stole 10 balls, and blocked 1 shot.

CU (7-16) was led by Parker with 22 points. His squad shot 49% (25-51) from the field, and 37.5% (9-24) from beyond the arc. They finished at 70% (14-20) from the free throw line. In addition, they added 38 rebounds, handed off 17 assists, and stole 1 ball.

The Eagles will close out the regular season on Saturday, February 24th when they journey to the Buckeye State to face the Ohio Christian Trailblazers. Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm.