Alice Lloyd Eagles close out regular season with big road victory over Ohio Christian University, 76-67

Circleville, OH: The Alice Lloyd College Eagles journeyed to the Buckeye state to face the red-hot Ohio Christian University Trailblazers in the final regular season contest of 2024.

The hosts entered this contest winners of 9-12 games, with all three losses coming by a combined 9 points. However, the Bluegrass boys came ready to play, putting on an impressive display, and nabbed the big 76-67 victory.

In the opening stanza, sparked by the effort of junior forward Devaunte Robinson, ALC raced out to a 14-5 advantage with 14:22 on the clock. However, OCU would battle back behind leading scorer Levi Seiler to take the lead at 30-27.

Fortunately, a late run by the Caney Creek crew would send them into the locker-room at intermission nursing a 33-32 lead.

In the second half, the Trailblazers crept out to a 42-37 advantage with 15:42 showing and looked poised to blow the game open. At this critical juncture, the Eagles responded.

Fueled by the trio of senior forward Ben Soumahoro, senior guard Jared Strickland and sophomore guard Koji Anderson, the Pippa Passes posse picked up their efficiency on offense to hit crucial buckets. On defense, they clamped down and limited the OCU offense with solid defense and rebounding. Once the clock reached the 5:00 mark, Alice Lloyd was clinging to a 59-57 lead.

As the contest entered crunch time, the visitors took over. First, Soumahoro drained a turn-around jumper in the paint for a 61-57 lead. On the next possession, after a nice steal by freshman forward Jackson Tackett, Anderson came down and swished a cold-blooded trifecta (64-57).

Finally, after another important defensive stop by the Kentucky squad, senior forward Blaine Keathley made his presence felt by sinking a contested jumper in the paint. Suddenly, with 3:27 left to play, the Eagles led 68-59.

From that point, they would score on six of their final seven possessions, including sinking big free throws down the stretch. This was more than enough to keep the Ohio team at bay, and seal the deal on a hard-fought victory.

For Alice Lloyd (13-15, 5-12 RSC), who placed five men in double-figures with a well-balanced attack, they were led on the night by Soumahoro, who pumped in a game-high 19 points on 7-12 shooting. He was also 5-6 from the charity line, snared 5 boards, nabbed 2 steals, and had the lone block. 

He was followed closely by his classmate Strickland, who finished 5-9 from the field, for 16 points. He added 8 rebounds and 2 steals.

Anderson and Tackett both contributed 13 points each, finishing 6-6 and 5-6 respectively from the charity stripe. Tackett led the squad with 9 boards, and both men also swiped 2 balls.

In addition, Robinson played big in the first half before leaving the contest with an injury. While in the game, he contributed 11 critical points to the cause.

On the day, the Caney Creek crew shot 45.6% (26-57) from the field, 20 % (3-15) from beyond arc and a crucial 80.8% (20-26) from the charity stripe. The deciding factor in the game was rebounds, as they hauled down 36. They also stole 10 balls and blocked 1 shot.

OCU (13-15; 8-9 RSC) was led by Seiler with 17 points. His squad shot 41.4% (24-58) from the field, 29.4% (10-34) beyond the arc and 90% (9-10) from the charity stripe. They were held to just 20 total rebounds, which proved decisive, and stole 4 balls.

The Eagles are back in action on Friday, March 1st when they travel to Oakland City, Indiana for the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament. ALC will face the Oakland City Mighty Oaks in semi-final action. The winner will advance to the championship the next day, with a berth in the NCCAA Men's DI National Championship in Winona Lake, Indiana awaiting the victor.