ALC Eagles win high-scoring thriller in Tennessee

Gallatin, TN: The Alice Lloyd Eagles made the big plays down the stretch and earned an exciting 92-90 victory over the home-standing Welch College Flames Saturday afternoon.

In the first half, the hosts rode the hot hand of Draven Smith to sink 6 of their first 7 shots. However, the Eagles got a combined 18 points from freshman forward Evin Eversole and junior forward Naz Welch to hang close. The Flames would hold a slight 44-42 advantage heading into the locker room for intermission.

In the second half, the Caney Creek crew came out on fire, fueled by the long-range-bombing provided from junior guard Desmier Hatchett. Trailing 46-42 with 18:54 showing, the visitors rolled off a 30-17 burst in a nine-minute period, As the clock dipped below the midway point, the Eagles had pulled ahead, 72-63.

 However, just when things were looking to be in the blue and whites favor, the momentum changed. The Flames promptly took advantage of untimely ALC miscues to roll off a huge 12-3 blitz. Suddenly, the Tennessee team led by five (80-75) with just 4:25 remaining.

Out of a timeout, Alice Lloyd responded by sandwiching a WC layup around triples from Hatchett and Eversole to slice the deficit to one, 82-81, at 3:28. Then, after the Caney Creek Crew forced a timeout of their own, Hatchett promptly swished another bomb to give his team a 84-82 lead.

The Flames would tie the score at 84-84 only to watch Eagle junior forward Landon Napier untie it (86-84) with a pair of clutch free throws. Then, after forcing another Welch turnover, Eversole powered his way to the goal to give his squad a 88-84 advantage at 1:55.

However, the hosts refused to fold. A Flames triple and layup would bump them back on top (89-88) with .41 remaining, but ALC junior guard Aden Slone sank a massive runner in the lane to give the Caney Crew a 90-89 edge at .32.

The guests took a timeout, then with only .15 ticks remaining, Hatchett delivered on the defensive end as he drew a crucial charge to gain control of the ball for his buddies. He then was fouled at .12 and cooly swished both charity tosses to make the score 92-89.

Now needing a triple to tie, Welch set up a play to get one, but the Bluegrass bombers threw a wrench in that plan by fouling with.07 remaining. Although the first toss was true (92-90), the second clanged off the iron and was corralled by Eversole. The Pippa Passes posse then swiftly moved the ball to Slone before Welch could catch him, and he dribbled out the clock to seal the satisfying victory.

For Alice Lloyd (3-8), Hatchett poured in a career-high 25 points, including 20 points over the final twenty minutes to lift his club. He drilled 8-15 field goals, 7-11 trifectas, and 2-2 free throws for his game-leading total. Eversole also sank 8-15 shots for 19 points. He completed his eighth double-double of the season by ripping down 13 rebounds. He also led the team with 3 steals.

Naz Welch sank 7-9 attempts to finish with 16 points, while junior guard Landon Napier chipped in with 8 points and 5 rebounds, freshman guard Will Alexander contributed 8 points and 4 boards, and junior guard Aden Slone led the squad with 8 assists and chipped in 7 points.

ALC shot a solid 54.8% (34-62) from the floor, a blistering 51.7% (15-29) from deep, and 90% (9-10) from the foul line. They added 37 rebounds, 20 assists and 6 steals.

WC (2-5) was led by Smith with 21 points. His squad shot 47.3% (35-74) from the field, 40.6% (13-32) from long-range, and 63.6% (7-11) from the foul line. They added 33 rebounds, 21 assists and 5 steals.