Alice Lloyd Eagles earn big conference victory over Indiana East Red Wolves, 87-82

Pippa Passes, KY:  On Saturday, January 13th, the Alice Lloyd Eagles played host to the Indiana University East Red Wolves in RSC play. The hosts led the majority of the way and pulled out the big 87-82 win.

In the opening stanza, the visitors scored, first only to see the Eagles get on the board, courtesy of a jumper from sophomore guard Jack Brown. Later with the score knotted at 4-4, senior Jared Strickland would swish a long bomb to give his team a 7-4 lead at 16:16. Little did the Hoosier squad realize that the guard was just getting started.

Over the next eight minutes, Strickland poured in his clubs next 13 points. He would go on to ram in 20 before the stanza ended. Due to his red-hot marksmanship, the Eagle would enter intermission with a 41-34 advantage.

In the second half, the Red Wolves would turn to leading scorer Colt Meyer, who brought his squad to within three (53-50) at the 13:31 mark. From there, the Pippa Passes posse would catch fire.

Over the next 6:28, the Caney Creek boys would show their balance as six Eagles, sparked by freshman guard Landon Napier, combined to produce 18 points in a huge 18-3 blitz. When the dust settled with 7:23 remaining on the scoreboard, the Bluegrass boys led 71-53, and appeared home-free.

To their credit, IUE refused to roll over and began to chip away at the deficit. Sparked by 14 points from Meyer and several missed possessions from the Eagles, East would get within three 78-75) with 1:41 remaining. The hometown fans began to worry.

Much to their relief, Alice Lloyd responded. On the next possession, Soumahoro drew the foul at 1:31 and sank two huge charity tosses to stop the bleeding (80-75). His club would actually seal the deal by drilling 9-10 charity tosses to preserve the important victory.

For Alice Lloyd (10-7, 2-5 RSC), they would place four men in double figures. They were led on the night by Strickland, who bagged 11-15 field goals, 3-4 bombs, and 4-5 free throws for his game-high 29 points. He added 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

He was followed by Napier, who provided 12 points, on 5-7 shooting. Soumahoro and Brown both chipped in with 10 points, Brown on 5-7 shooting. Soumahoro registered another double-double with 11 caroms, and handed out 4 assists for good measure.

Additionally, Brown added 6 boards while sophomore guard Koji Anderson contributed 9 points and 5 assists. Senior guard Brady Nelson sank some timely free throws and contributed 8 points to the cause.

On the night, the victors shot 49.3% (34-69) from the field, 41.7 % (5-12) from beyond the arc and 56% (14-25) from the charity stripe. Fortunately, they came up huge at crunch time. They grabbed 42 rebounds, handed off 15 assists, stole 9 balls and blocked 4 shots.

The Red Wolves (6-10; 2-3 RSC) were led by Meyer and Antuane Allen, both with 18 points. There squad shot 42.9% (30-70) from the field, 20% (5-25) from beyond the arc and 65.4% (17-26) from the charity stripe. They snared 45 rebounds, handed off 17 assists and stole 5 balls.

The Eagles are off until Thursday, January 18^th when they travel to Kokomo, Indiana to face the host Cougars in a critical RSC matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm.