Alice Lloyd wins NCCAA DI Men’s Basketball Mideast Region Championship, defeat Asbury University 78-71

Eagles now advance to NCCAA DI National Championship

Oakland City, IN: On March 2^nd, the #2 seeded Alice Lloyd Eagles journeyed to Oakland City, Indiana to face the red-hot, and #1 seeded Asbury University Eagles in the championship game of the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament. With a national-tournament berth on the line, the Eastern-Kentucky boys would combine a balanced offensive attack with impressive defense to take the title, 78-71.

 These two squads always have memorial battles when they meet on the hardwood, and this time was no exception. Asbury, the defending Mideast Regional champs, had taken the first contest on November 18^th, 84-81. ALC returned the favor on January 9^th, 88-78. The rubber match would prove just as entertaining.

In the opening stanza, sparked by the scoring of senior forward Ben Soumahoro and junior forward Devaunte Robinson, Alice Lloyd got off to a great start, combining for 16 points. When Robinson scored in the paint at 9:48, the Caney Creek crew led 23-11.

However, Asbury, winners of eight consecutive games, was determined not to go away quietly. They turned to guard Dakota Walden, and the senior put the Wilmore club on his back. He would proceed to pour in 17 first-half points, and his trifecta at :48 gave his club a 34-33 lead.

After getting the ball back, Asbury looked to hold for the final shot of the half. However, that plan was thwarted when Alice Lloyd junior guard Jacob Curry stole a pass at :06, fed it to sophomore point guard Koji Anderson, who found senior guard Jared Strickland streaking for the basket. His lay-in just before the buzzer gave the Pippa Passes posse a slight 35-34 advantage at intermission.

In the second half, the central Kentucky Eagles immediately found strongman Clayton Winter for a mid-range jumper, that gave the purple and white a lead once more, 36-35. Little did any fan in attendance realize that this would be Asbury's last lead of the game.

Robinson would answer for ALC at 19:04 with a soft jumper (37-36). Then a Strickland steal would lead to a hoop from senior guard Brady Nelson. The visiting team now led by three, 39-36.

Later, as the clock ticked below the ten-minute mark, a sweet driving layup from Strickland put his Eagles on top, 54-48.

When AU guard Luke Imfeld swished a bomb at 9:15, his crew only trailed 56-54. Fortunately for the Pippa Passes contingency, Anderson would drain a clutch trifecta of his own on the very next possession, and this would fuel a burst for the royal blue and white.  

 Later, when Anderson capped off a crucial 9-2 run with a beautiful driving layup, his team suddenly led 65-56 with 4:48 on the clock. Even though Asbury would battle until the final horn sounded, the Alice Lloyd team was able to drain big charity tosses to seal the deal on the championship.

For Alice Lloyd (15-15), they won with incredible balance, as five men reached double-digits. They were led on the night by Strickland, who drained 7-15 field goals and a perfect 9-9 free throws for 24 points. He achieved a double-double by snagging 11 rebounds. He added 2 steals and 1 block.

He was followed by freshman forward Jackson Tackett who sank 4-10 attempts for 13 points. He added 6 boards before fouling out. Soumahoro, came up with 12 points on 6-9 shooting. He also became a member of the prestigious double-double club as well, by ripping down 11 rebounds of his own. Additionally, he chipped in with 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.

Also hitting double figures was Robinson, who sank 4-7 field goals for 10 points, and Anderson, who came up big in the second half by contributing 10 points to the cause. Furthermore, he contributed 4 more caroms.

Also coming up big in the final twenty minutes was senior guard Brady Nelson, who just missed double figures as he gave the club 8 points and 6 critical rebounds.

On the day, the Caney Creek crew shot 48.2% (27-56) from the field, 16.7% (2-12) from beyond arc and 75.8% (22-29) from the charity stripe. A deciding factor in the game was rebounds, as the victors won the rebounding battle for the third consecutive contest. This time, they hauled down 45. They also added 8 assists, stole 7 balls and blocked 2 shots.

AU (16-9) was led by Walden with 28 points and Imfeld with 19. Their squad, which is usually very efficient on offense, was held to just 31.3% (21-67) accuracy from the field by the victorious Eagles defense.

To demonstrate how impressive their defense was, Alice Lloyd managed to hold Asbury's second leading scorer, Caleb Wallis (15.1ppg) to 0-7 shooting and 1 point. AU also finished at 21.2% (7-33) from beyond the arc and 75.8% (22-29) from the charity stripe. They snared 36 total rebounds and stole 9 balls.

This makes the fourth time in the last five years that ALC has been crowned Mideast Regional Champions. With the victory, the Eagles now advance to the NCCAA Men's DI National Championship. The event will take place on March 20^th-23^rd in Winona Lake, Indiana.