Posted: Feb 09, 2025
Clutch overtime free throws with .04 seconds left propel Alice Lloyd Eagles to 83-82 comeback victory over Indiana Southeast
Indiana Southeast
(10-13, 5-7)
82
Alice Lloyd (KY)
(17-6, 8-4)
83
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Indiana Southeast (10-13, 5-7) | 32 | 36 | 14 | 82 |
|
Alice Lloyd (KY) (17-6, 8-4) | 32 | 36 | 15 | 83 |
Pippa Passes, KY: Senior guard Jared Strickland swished two clutch free throws with .04 remaining on the clock to lift the Alice Lloyd Eagles to a dramatic 83-82 comeback victory over the Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers.The big River States Conference showdown was held Saturday, February 8th, on "Coach J" Court at the Perry Campus Center.
In the first half, leading scorer Ben Soumahoro picked up a pair of fouls in just three minutes, the hosts came out flat, and IUS took advantage. Sparked by guards Trent Hinkle and Xavier Price, Southeast raced out to a 13-5 lead with 14:20 showing on the clock.
Fortunately for the hometown fans, ALC sophomore forward Jackson Tackett would spark a rally. He would pump in 9 points as the Bluegrass men chipped into the deficit. The Eagles would actually lead 32-28 heading into the final minute, but four late Grenadier points set the scoreboard at 32-32 at intermission.
In the second half, the momentum clearly remained in the Hoosier club's favor as Soumahoro picked up two quick fouls and was regulated to the bench once again. Because of this, during the first eight minutes, Southeast rolled off a 20-8 burst. When their forward Camden Pfeister dunked on a drive down the middle at 12:02, the IU lead grew to twelve, 52-40.
Although the hosts fought to get back into contention, Southeast maintained control of the game and kept their advantage. As the clock ticked below the seven-minute mark (6:56), they still led by ten, 64-54. With the Caney fans now on pins and needles, the Pippa Passes posse responded.
On defense, the Eagles locked down tight, while on offense, Soumahoro re-entered the match with a vengeance. Despite playing with four fouls, he scored six big points to spark a run. His buddy, junior guard Koji Anderson, then took over, sinking a beautiful drive in the paint and swishing a massive trifecta at 1:13. The crowd erupted as Anderson's deep bomb with 1:13 showing made the score 66-66, leading to a timeout.
On their next possession, Pfeister gave the Indiana team a lead on a back-door play (68-66). Now ALC had to score.
With the pressure on, the Eagles would bring the ball down and turn to Soumahoro, who was fouled to stop his strong drive to the hoop. With .32 left to play, the senior delivered as he cooly bagged both charity tosses to tie things once more, 68-68.
Southeast gained possession and looked for Hinkle to lead them home. However, a great contest by the ALC defense bottled him up and forced a miss. The hosts snagged the rebound and called time with .07 remaining.
The Caney Creek club turned once more to Soumahoro to lead them to the winner's circle, but his shot just ahead of the buzzer came up short. The match would now need five extra minutes to determine a winner.
In the extra session, Soumahoro stuck first with a jumper, which was matched by two Southeast freet throws from Hinkle (70-70). He would foul Soumahoro out on the play. Then, after Alice Lloyd's Anderson swished a deep trifecta to put the hosts up 73-70, Hinkle answered with an acrobatic three-point play of his own. The score stood at 73-73 with 3:35 remaining.
Eagle jumpers from senior guard Jacob Curry and Anderson were matched by a pair from IUS players Caleb Brown and Pfeister, keeping the game deadlocked at 77-77 with 2:02 left to play.
On the next Pippa Passes possession, Anderson wowed the crowd once again as the gutsy guard swished another deep bomb to put the hosts ahead, 80-77. But once more for IU, Hinkle answered with his only three-pointer of the day to knot the score once, 80-80. Just .45 remained on the clock in what had turned into a highly entertaining matchup.
The Eagles brought the ball down, looking for a good shot. They would turn to Anderson once again, who had played exceptionally down the stretch. This time, his long bomb would finally rim out, but ALC fans saw Tackett show great hustle and rip down the offensive rebound. He would be fouled at :24.
Tackett, a very good free-throw shooter, surprisingly had his first attempt roll out. However, he swished the important second shot to put his crew ahead, 81-80. Now, the Eagles would have to dig deep for one more defensive stop.
Everyone in the gym was on their feet, and everyone knew the Grenadiers would turn to Hinkle. The quicksilver guard attempted to drive to the rim and was tripped, drawing a foul with just .04 left to play. Hinkle, an 88% shooter, confidently made both, giving his squad an 82-81 advantage. Now, out of timeouts, the Eagle comeback appeared destined to come up just short. However, one thing Alice Lloyd fans have learned all season is you can't count the Pippa Passes players out of any game.
The hosts quickly fed the ball to Anderson, who caught the ball on the fly and quickly sprinted down court. He fed a nice pass to Strickland, racing toward the paint on the left side. Strickland received the ball in stride, took one quick dribble, and fired a runner. Although the shot banked off the board and bounced off the rim, a Southeast defender ran directly under the senior, fouling him just ahead of the buzzer. The crowd screamed with joy as the veteran would have two charity tosses to give his club a lead. However, the question was, how much time remained on the game clock?
An interesting development now happened as the officials correctly conferred to check the replay to be certain that the time was accurate. It would take over five minutes to determine that .04 should be placed on the clock. In the meantime, Strickland was forced to wait and ponder his attempts, while both squads watched anxiously.
The Eagles' second-leading scorer had been mostly silent tonight, but now the club's best free throw shooter at 86% would have a chance to change everything. Everyone in attendance nervously wondered if the long delay would have a negative effect on the senior.
The fans should have known better as Strickland confidently swished the first toss, then earned thunderous cheers by swishing the second to make the score 83-82. IUS attempted to throw the ball downcourt, but they had no time to get a shot off as the horn sounded to hand the Eagles another improbable victory and set off a big celebration.
For ALC (17-6; 8-4 RSC), four players reached double figures. Anderson was exceptional and fueled the Alice Lloyd comeback by draining 8-12 attempts, including 5-9 trifectas, for 21 points. Tackett hit 5-8 attempts (2-3 3PT) and 5-8 free throws for 17 points. He also led the team with 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
Strickland hit a perfect 6-6 free throws, including the game-winning ones, and contributed 12 points. He also led with 4 steals and grabbed 5 rebounds of his own. Soumahoro battled through his extreme foul difficulties to chip in with 11 points and grab 6 boards. Nearly every point he scored was in the club's late run and helped spark the comeback. Curry, who sank a key late jumper, just missed double-digits, as he finished with 9 points.
The victorious"Cardiac Caney Creekers" shot 43.5% (27-62) from the field, just 29% (9-31) from beyond the arc, but a critical 83.3% (20-24) from the free-throw line. This includes draining 17 of their final 18 attempts.
They also added 33 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 blocks, and 8 steals.
IUS (10-13; 5-7 RSC), was led on the day by Hinkle who came up big with 32 points. His club shot 45.6% (31-68) from the field, 15% (3-20) from deep, and 73.9% (17-23) from the foul line. They added 44 rebounds, 17 assists, 2 blocks, and 4 steals.
A deciding difference in the matchup came down to the Eagles' long-range bombing and free-throw accuracy. Although, as one of the nation's leading three-point shooting clubs, they did not hit their typical percentage, they still won the points-off three-point-baskets battle, 27-9.
The Bluegrass crew will next return to the hardwood on Wednesday, February 12th, when they travel to the Mountaineer state for a huge RSC matchup with the West Virginia Tech Golden Bears.Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.