Alice Lloyd Eagles Basketball falls in Mideast Regional Championship to Ohio Christian University

Pippa Passes, KY: On March 7th, the Alice Lloyd Eagles basketball squad hosted the Ohio Christian University Trailblazers in the championship game of the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament with an automatic berth to the national tournament awaiting the winner. The Eagles would fall behind quickly and be forced to play catch-up the entire way. Although the hosts never quit, blazing shooting would lift the Trailblazers to the 89-73 victory.

ALC entered this game fresh off a thrilling 107-103 overtime victory just 24-hours earlier against a physical Lancaster Bible Chargers club while OCU was well-rested having earned a bye to the finals. In the first half, paced by their long-range marksmanship, the Buckeye squad looked fresh as they opened the contest on a torrid 18-2 blitz in just 4:29 of play.

However, sparked by the production of senior forward Ben Soumahoro and junior guard Koji Anderson, the Eagles promptly went on a 13-0 burst of their own. With 12:21 showing on the clock, the score read 18-15. The Trailblazers then pushed the lead back up and kept it up only to see Caney Creek sophomore forward Jackson Tackett stick several post shots to bring his cagers within a deuce (29-27) at the 5:46 mark. However, once again the Ohio team reeled off a quick 8-0 run to move ahead 37-27, and would manage to push it out to 44-32 by intermission.

 In the second half, OCU remained hot and used the shooting of Chapman Faulkner to outscore the home team 17-10. This pushed them ahead 61-42 at the 14:32 juncture of the game.

Once again, ALC refused to roll over. and began to chip into the deficit. Sparked by 12 points from Soumahoro, the Pippa Passes posse dug in rolled off a 21-6 blitz of their own to make the score 67-63 with 7:05 remaining in the contest, prompting a timeout from the Trailblazers.

Unfortunately, out of the timeout, a momentum-changing play occeured. OCU's Landon Brewer drained a trifecta, was fouled, and made the charity toss. His critical 4-point play doubled their advantage (71-63). Then after Anderson kept the Eagle faithful encouraged with a mid-range jumper (71-65), Ohio Christian got a old-fashioned 3-point play on their next possession. This gave the Buckeye club a 74-65 lead with 5:04 remaining, and from that point, the visitors held on to preserve the win.

 For Alice Lloyd (20-10), they were led on the night by Soumahoro, who was impressive once more. He pumped in 9-17 field goals for a team-high 24 points, and finished the night with a double-double as he hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds. He also added 3 assists and 2 steals.

 Also reaching double digits were Anderson, and Tackett. Anderson connected on 7-15 attempts for 18 points while adding 3 assists and 2 steals. Tackett also contributed 18 points of his own, cashing in on 7-12 field goals, including 4-6 from long distance. In addition, junior guard Wilgus Tolson added 3 assists.

 On the day, the Caney Creek crew finished at 43.8% (28-64) from the field, including 37.5% (9-24) from beyond the arc. They also hit 80% (8-10) from the charity stripe, grabbed 27 rebounds, handed out 13 assists, and nabbed 7 steals. 

OCU (25-4) placed five players in double-figures, led by Faulkner with 25 points. His squad connected on 54.2% (32-59) from the field, and won the game by shooting an incredible 56.7% (17-30) from long range. They were also 61.5% (8-13) from the charity line. Additionally, they nabbed 39 rebounds, handed off 25 huge assists, and stole 6 balls. 

The Eagles now sit and wait to see if they will receive an at-large bid to the NCCAA National Tournament. Regardless, they become just the second team since 1996 to win at least 20 games in a season.