Alice Lloyd Eagles use high-octane offense to take down Crowley’s Ridge, Arkansas, 109-82

Harrodsburg, KY:  On Friday, December 15^h, the Alice Lloyd Eagles journeyed to central Kentucky to participate in the opening matchup of the Campbellsville- Harrodsburg University Classic. This marked the first-ever contest with fellow NAIA member, Crowley's Ridge, Arkansas. The Kentucky boys would use hot-shooting to roll to the convincing 109-82 victory.

In the opening stanza, the CR Pioneers came out determined to put up a fight. With 12:27 on the clock, the score was knotted up at 17-17. At that moment, fueled by back-to-back hoops from freshman guard Landon Napier, ALC went on a quick 10-2 run to lead 27-19.

To their credit, due to the scoring of quick guard Zak Brown, CR battled back to reduce the deficit to one (36-35) with six minutes remaining. Fortunately, at that crucial time the Pippa Passes posse turned on the afterburners.

Sparked by the passing of sophomore guard Koji Anderson and the offensive production from senior guard Jared Strickland and sophomore guard Jack Brown, ALC raced out to a quick double-digit lead.

The Pioneers tried to remain within striking distance, but the Eagles would pump in 23 points the rest of the way, and take a 59-44 advantage into the locker room at intermission.

In the second half, the Eagles would gain additional firepower on the inside from senior forward Ben Soumahoro and freshman forward Jackson Tackett, while junior guard Jacob Curry heated up from long range. The Pippa Passes posse would quickly extend their lead to 23 (74-51), with 16:00 left to play, on a slam from Brown.

The Razorback squad would make one last run and get within twelve points (88-76) at 8:23, just to see Curry and Napier drain back-to-back trifectas and quickly enable the Bluegrass crew to take off once more. From there, the Eagles would roll on until the final horn sounded to clinch the dominate victory.

For the winning Caney Creek crew (7-4), they would place five men in double figures in a well-balanced attack. They were led on the night by Brown, who sank 7-9 shots, including two posturizing dunks, to score 17 points. He also led the club with 6 rebounds. He was followed closely by Strickland with 16 points on 6 -12 accuracy, including 4-6 from deep.

Also hitting double figures were Tackett, who added 14 points (4-7 FG's) and 5 rebounds, Soumahoro, who contributed 13 points (5-6 FG's), and Curry, who swished four bombs for 12 points.

In addition, the senior duo of forward Blaine Keathley and guard Brady Nelson both chipped in with 8 points, while Anderson dished off a career-high 10 assists and recorded 5 steals. Brown and freshman center Micah Wills each blocked 2 shots.

On the night, the victors shot 52.7% (39-74) from the field, a solid 50% (12-24) from beyond the arc and 82.6% (19-23) from the charity stripe. They grabbed 32 rebounds, handed off 25 assists, stole 13 balls and blocked 4 shots.

Crowley's Ridge (3-9) was paced by Zak Brown with 20 points. His squad shot 47.7% (31-65) from the field, 37.5% (6-16) from beyond the arc and 63.6% (14-22) from the charity stripe. They snared 33 rebounds, handed off 17 assists, stole 5 balls.

The Eagles return to the hardwood tomorrow, December 16th when they travel to play the host Campbellsville University Harrodsburg Pioneers in day two action. Tipoff is set for 7:00p.m.