Alice Lloyd Eagles Close Regular Season, Earn Huge 88-69 Victory Over West Virginia Tech University

Pippa Passes, KY: On Saturday, February 18^th, the Alice Lloyd Eagles returned to the Perry Campus Center and "Coach J Court" to close out the regular season against the dangerous West Virginia Tech Golden Bears. In an impressive display of team play, the Eagles took down the Bears in dominant fashion, 88-69.

WV Tech came out of the gate strong from long distance. Led by guard Bryce Radford, they pulled out to a 20-16 lead with 10:53 showing. However, the momentum would soon change in favor of the Caney Creek club.

Sparked by the inside play of senior forward Will Philpot and the long-range bombing from senior guard Bryce Slone and junior guard Jared Strickland, ALC chipped into the lead.

First, Strickland scored 8 points over a five-minute span to knot the score at 28-28 with 5:00 left on the clock. Next, Slone and Philpot inflicted the damage, as ALC would close the half on a big 15-3 burst. This would enable the Kentucky boys to lead 43-31 at intermission, with the trio combining for 26 total points.

In the second half, WVU would drain two early bombs and shrink the deficit to 8 (45-37).  Just when it seemed the Mountaineer club was on the verge of a comeback, the Eagle faithful saw senior forward Damon Tobler and junior guard Ben Soumahoro take over the game.

Over the next six minutes, the hosts reeled off a 24-12 blitz, as the duo poured in 19 of their clubs' points. After a Tobler power move in the paint forced a Bear timeout with 12:14 remaining in the game, ALC suddenly led 69-49. Tech would never get closer than 14 points the rest of the way as the Pippa Passes posse slammed the door shut on the impressive victory.

For Alice Lloyd (14-13; 8-9 RSC), five players reached double figures. They were led on the day by Slone, who drilled 6-10 shots, including 4 bombs, to produce a game-high 19 points. He also led the way with 5 assists. Tobler pumped in 7-10 shots and scored 18 points. He added 6 rebounds.

Soumahoro was just behind with 16 points. He added 6 boards and 4 assists. Strickland swished 3 bombs and produced 15 points. He also registered 2 blocks. Philpot just missed a double-double, as he chipped in with 11 points and snagged 9 caroms of his own.

ALC shot 52.2 % (35-67) from the field and 45% (9-20) from behind the arc. They sank 75% (9-12) from the foul line and added 41 rebounds, 14 assists, and 7 steals.

For the Golden Bears (12-15;7-10 RSC), Radford led the squad with 19 points. His club shot 46.6% (27-58) from the floor and 37.5% (12-32) from behind the arc. They hit 50% (3-6) from the foul line, and also added 26 rebounds, 16 assists, and 2 steals.

The Eagles return to action next week on Wednesday, February 22^nd in the Quarter-Finals of the River States Conference Tournament as the #3 seed in the Eastern Division.  They will travel to the Hoosier state to face the West Division #2 seeded Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers at 7:00 pm.