Alice Lloyd Eagles drop close decision at Brescia University, 91-84

Owensboro, KY:  On Saturday, January 5th, the Alice Lloyd Eagles journeyed to Owensboro to face the Brescia Bearcats in RSC action. The Eagles fought back from a double-digit deficit before falling short, 91-89.

In the opening stanza, the visitors received 9 points from freshman forward Jackson Tackett to race out to a quick 12-4 lead in five minutes. At that point, Eagles senior forward Ben Soumahoro picked up his second foul, regulating him to the bench.

From there, BU would then turn to leading scorer Taeron Hogg and roll off a 13-0 burst in just three minutes to pull ahead, 17-12 with twelve minutes showing.

ALC would then answer with a brief run of their own, eventually taking their last lead at 28-27 following a Tackett bucket in the paint at 5:31.

Unfortunately, the Owensboro squad would pour out a 11-0 blitz in just two minutes, and vault ahead 38-28. They would enter the locker room at intermission holding a 46-34 cushion.

In the second half, the Bearcats would hold on to the lead as they basically traded buckets with their counterparts for the first ten minutes. At the midway point, Brescia still held a solid 69-58 advantage.

In need of a spark, ALC would see freshman guard Landon Napier deliver and help slice the deficit in half (75-70) with 6:46 still remaining.

Unfortunately, BU would promptly push the advantage back to fourteen (86-72) with 4:07 showing on the scoreboard, as Hogg produced the last 4 points in the run.

From there, ALC would dig deep and fight back. They would get within five (86-81) with just .44 left. A missed free throw would appear to be captured by the Eagles, but they would fumble the ball and lose control. BU then would close the contest sinking 5-6 charity tosses.

For Alice Lloyd (8-7, 1-5 RSC), they would place three men in double figures. They were led on the night by Soumahoro, who scored 17 points on 7-8 shooting. He was followed closely by Napier, who bagged 16 points, on 6-9 shooting Tackett chipped in with 15, sinking 6-8 field goals.

Junior guard Jacob Curry led the team with 3 steals while the sophomore guard duo of Koji Anderson and Wilgus Tolson each distributed 3 assists.

On the night, the visitors shot 49.2% (29-59) from the field, 26.3% (5-19) from beyond the arc and 67.7% (21-31) from the charity stripe. They grabbed 32 rebounds, handed off 16 assists, stole 8 balls and blocked 1 shot.

The Bearcats (4-6; 2-3) were led by Hoggs game-high 22 points. His squad shot 47.1% (33-70) from the field, 30% (6-20) from beyond the arc and 76% (19-25) from the charity stripe. They snared 45 rebounds, handed off 16 assists and stole 6 balls.

The Eagles return to the hardwood for two home contests next week. On Tuesday, January 9th, they host the Asbury University Eagles in a non-conference rivalry game at 7:00. They then play an important conference match on Saturday, January 13^th against the Indiana University East Red Wolves, Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm.