Alice Lloyd Eagles rally falls short, drop 97-93 decision at Midway University

Midway, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Eagles ventured to central Kentucky on February 15th to face an athletic Midway University Eagles squad. The visitors, who are playing without the services of high-scoring senior guard Jared Strickland and valuable 6th man Devaunte Robinson, fought back from a 17-point second-half deficit only to fall in the waning seconds, 97-93.

In the opening half, a bomb from senior guard Jacob Curry gave the visitors a quick 8-5 lead three minutes in before Midway caught fire. The hosts would pull out to a 26-16 cushion at 9:09.

However, Alice Lloyd answered with a 15-6 run, sparked behind a combined 10 points from senior forward Ben Soumahoro and freshman guard Kaleb Walker, to get within a single point, 32-31, with 5:34 showing on the clock. Unfortunately, sparked by the red-hot shooting of Miguel Shaw, Midway closed the half with a 20-7 blitz and would take a 52-38 lead into intermission.

In the second half, the host club opened with a trifecta to lead by seventeen (55-38) and still led 63-48 with 16:05 remaining. From that point, ALC began to fight back.

Over the next four minutes, junior guard Koji Anderson and sophomore forward Jackson Tackett combined for 14 points in a quick 16-2 burst. Later, when Curry bagged a long bomb at 12:51, the score stood 65-63. ALC would get two good looks to take the lead, but both came up just short.

MU would then regroup and extend their cushion back to eight at 3:34, but the Eagles answered once again with a 6-0 burst. Curry would then have another three-point attempt at 2:00 to give his club the lead for the first time since early in the game, but his shot rimmed out. From there, Midway would make their free throws down the stretch to preserve the close victory.

For Alice Lloyd (18-7; 9-5 RSC), Soumahoro stepped up hugely, especially in the second half. He finished with game-highs of 33 points (12-21 FG), 14 rebounds, and 5 assists while adding 2 steals. He was followed by Tackett, who pumped in 16 points (5-11 FG) and snagged 12 rebounds. Curry sank 4-10 long balls to add 14 points, while Anderson also hit double-digits with 11 points.

In addition, Walker added 8 points while sophomore guard Landon Napier recorded 5 steals.

On the day, the Caney Creek crew finished at 42.2% (35-83) from the field, including 30% (9-30) from beyond the arc. They also hit 73.7% (14-19) from the charity stripe, grabbed 43 rebounds, handed out 11 assists, and nabbed 14 steals. 

Midway (9-14; 6-8 RSC) was led by Shaw with 22 points. His squad connected on a solid 55.6% (35-63) from the field, 50% (8-16) from long range and 76% (19-25) from the free throw line. Additionally, they nabbed 40 rebounds, handed off 18 assists, and stole 6 balls. 

The Eagles enter the final week of the regular season. They will return to the hardwood on Tuesday, January 18th (weather permitting), for a huge matchup against Rio Grande University in RSC action. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.