#8 Alice Lloyd Eagles Falter in Second Half, Fall to #1 Cedarville University in NCCAA Men’s National Championship

Eagles now play Roberts Wesleyan University (NY) Thursday @ 10:15am

Lake Winona, IN: On March 20th, the #8 seeded Alice Lloyd Eagles journeyed to Lake Winona, Indiana to begin play in the NCCAA Men's DI National Championship. The Eagles had the difficult task of facing the top seed, the Cedarville University Yellowjackets, who also have dual affiliation with NCAA DII.

ALC fought their way to a halftime lead and kept it until just before the midpoint of the game. Unfortunately, a flurry of threes from one of the nation's top shooting teams propelled them to a come-from-behind 87-73 victory.

In the opening stanza, sparked by the scoring of senior guard Jared Strickland and freshman forward Jackson Tackett, the Bluegrass boys eased out to a quick advantage. They would lead by as many as seven (13-6) with 13:11 showing.

Despite the fact that the Yellowjackets average making over 12 trifectas per game, ALC's defense kept them from heating up. The Buckeye club would chip away at the deficit, but the Bluegrass boys managed to hold a 36-34 advantage at intermission.

In the second half, the Kentucky Eagles fought to preserve that cushion and held on tightly. Leading by four points (54-50) as the clock neared the midway point, the momentum was unfortunately getting ready to change.

After a turnover gave the ball back to CU, they would respond. Guard Timothy Davis bagged back-to-back threes to pull his team ahead, 56-54. From there, CU got big production from center Grant Williams who would sink 5-6 long bombs by himself. That marksmanship pushed their club to a double-digit lead.

The Eagle valiantly fought to keep close as sophomore guard Koji Anderson caught fire. Unfortunately, the top seed would hold it until the final buzzer sounded.

For Alice Lloyd (15-16), they were led on the night by Strickland, with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 assists. He was followed closely by Anderson, with 17 points on 8-15 accuracy. He added 4 boards

Tackett sank 6-11attempts for 13 points. He added 5 boards and 2 steals. Senior forward Ben Soumahoro, came up with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 steals.

On the day, the Caney Creek crew shot 44.9% (31-69) from the field, 27.3% (6-22) from beyond arc and 50% (5-10) from the charity stripe. They added 33 rebounds, 8 assists, 8 steals and blocked 4 shots.

CU (21-10) was led by Williams with 24 points. His squad shot 47.1% (32-68) accuracy from the field and 37.8% (14-37) from beyond the arc. The turning point in the game was they drilled 50% (11-22) from deep in the second half. Additionally, they snared 45 total rebounds, handed off 22 assists and stole 6 balls.

The Eagles now move to the consolation bracket where they face an athletic Roberts Wesleyan Redhawk's club at 10:15 am. The #4 seed, who also has dual affiliation with NCAA DII, is located in Rochester, New York.