Furious rally falls short as ALC Eagles fall to Ohio Christian University Trailblazers, 92-85

Pippa Passes, KY: On December 3rd, the Alice Lloyd Eagles basketball squad hosted the Ohio Christian University Trailblazers. The Eagles would trail by as many as 21 points in the second half before mounting a furious rally. However, the hometown squad would eventually fall, 92-85.

In the opening stanza, the Trailblazers came out the gate with guns a-blazing. The Ohio squad drained 11-21 bombs in the first twenty minutes alone as they led from the opening tip. Although the Pippa Passes posse countered with 14 points from senior forward Ben Soumahoro, the Buckeye club still led 45-32 at intermission.

 In the second half, Soumahoro was limited by foul trouble, while OCU remained hot. Later, red-hot Dylan Joy swished his fourth consecutive trifecta to give the visitors a huge 76-65 lead with just 6:55 showing on the clock. With just 3:35 mark left to play in the contest, his club still led 83-63.

 Suddenly, ALC came alive. Over the next 2:21 on defense, the Eagles forced 4 turnovers. At the same time on offense, senior guard Jared Strickland pumped in 8 points and junior guard Wilgus Tolson added 5 more to spark a massive 17-3 blitz. After the dust settled at 1:14, the score read 86-80, and the home fans were estatic.

 Alice Lloyd would get the ball back and even have an opportunity to get closer, but a three-point shot at 1:14 came up just short. From there Ohio Christian would sink 6 free throws and finally subdue the scrappy Eagles.

 For Alice Lloyd (6-2), they were led on the night by Soumahoro, who pumped in 10-16 field goals for a game-high 20 points. He finished the night with a double-double as he hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds. He also added 2 assists and 2 steals.

 Also reaching double digits were Strickland, with 16 points, junior guard  Koji Anderson, with 15 points, and Tolson with 10 points.

 In addition, Anderson added a pair of steals, while Strickland, Tolson, senior guard Brady Nelson, and sophomore forward Jackson Tackett all recorded 2 assists.

 On the day, the Caney Creek crew finished at 48.6% (34-70) from the field, including 30.8% (8-26) from beyond the arc. They also hit 75% (9-12) from the charity stripe, grabbed 34 rebounds, handed out 11 assists, and nabbed 7 steals. 

OCU (7-3) placed six players in double-figures, led by Joy with 19 points. His squad connected on 52.7% (29-55) from the field, and won the game by shooting an incredible 50% (18-36 from long range. They were also 80% (16-20) from the charity line. Additionally, they nabbed 34 rebounds, handed off 25 huge assists, and stole 8 balls.