Alice Lloyd Eagles drop close decision to Ohio Christian University, 89-85

Pippa Passes, KY:  On Saturday, February 3rd, the Alice Lloyd Eagles played host to the red-hot Ohio Christian University Trailblazers in RSC play. The visitors, winners of six of their last seven games, held on late for the 89-85 victory.

In the opening stanza, the two clubs both were stingy on defense as ALC only took their first lead of the game (8-6) on a powerful dunk in traffic from junior forward Devaunte Robinson with 13:18 on the clock.

After an 8-5 run from OCU gave them a 14-13 advantage, ALC saw sophomore guard Koji Anderson score 5 points in a quick 7-0 burst, and lift his club to a 20-14 cushion at 9:13.

Later, with the contest knotted up at 25, the Eagles would hang tough, fueled by a trifecta of long-bombs from freshman guard Daniel Carmical. However, a last-second triple from the Trailblazers leading scorer Levi Seiler tied the match at 36-36 by intermission.

In the second half, the Eagles crept out to a 47-46 lead at 16:44 following a jumper from freshman forward Jackson Tackett. Unfortunately, OCU responded.

Over the next six minutes, the visitors rolled off a 18-4 blitz to roar out to a 64-51 cushion. Later, by the 6:18 juncture, their advantage was fourteen (69-55).

Over the remainder of the game Anderson and Tackett poured in 21 points between them to help the Pippa Passes posse fight back. However, 9-10 free throw accuracy from the Buckeye club enabled them to hold on until the final buzzer sounded.

For Alice Lloyd (11-11, 3-9 RSC), they were led on the night by Anderson, who pumped in 20 points on 7-10 shooting. He was also a perfect 6-6 from long distance, and nabbed 2 steals. 

Tackett added 15 points on 7-10 accuracy, senior guard Jared Strickland chipped in with 12 points, 3 blocks and 2 steals, and Carmichael finished with 9 points and 2 steals.

In addition, freshman guard Landon Napier led the squad with 3 assists while sophomore guard Wilgus Tolson gathered 5 boards.

On the day, the Caney Creek crew shot 45.1% (32-71) from the field, a respectable 41.4 % (12-29) from beyond arc and 81.8% (9-11) from the charity stripe. The deciding factor in the game was rebounds, as they only corralled 25. They also handed off 11 assists, stole 11 balls and blocked 3 shots.

OCU (11-12; 6-6 RSC) was led by Seiler with 24 points. His squad shot 48.3% (29-60) from the field, 40.6% (13-32) from beyond the arc and 81.8% (18-22) from the charity stripe. They won by snaring 48 rebounds, and handed out 16 assists and stole 8 balls.

The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, February 6th when they return home to face the powerful Shawnee State Bears in a critical RSC matchup. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm.