ALC Eagles battle  to the end before falling to Union Commonwealth, 90-80

Barboursville, KY: The Alice Lloyd Eagles journeyed to Barboursville on Tuesday to tackle the home-standing Union Commonwealth University Bulldogs. The Pippa Passes posse put up a tough challenge before eventually succumbing by ten, 90-80.

In the first half ALC came out ready to play. Sparked by junior forward Naz Welch and senior guard Koji Anderson, the Eagles grabbed the lead and held it the majority of the way. However, the Bulldogs would rally late behind 16 points from Dallas Rufus, and take a 36-32 lead by the midway point.

In the second half, the Caney Creek crew fought hard, but Union managed to slowly pull out, eventually leading by 16 (75-59) at the 4:47 mark. However, fueled by buckets from Welch, Anderson, junior forward Landon Napier and freshman forward Evin Eversole, the Caney Creek crew reduced the deficit to just six with 2:34 remaining. Unfortunately, the visitors were able to deliver a pair of much-needed buckets to finally gain distance and hold off the pesky Pippa Passes posse.

For Alice Lloyd (4-11), five men reached double-figures. Welch would lead all scorers as he pumped in 20 points, and also grabbed 8 rebounds. He was closely followed by Anderson who drilled 19 points on 5 bombs, and off 7 assists. Napier played well, finishing with 17 points and 7 boards, while Eversole ended the day with a 14 point-14 rebound double-double. In addition, junior guard Desmier Hatchett scored 10 points, snagged 8 rebounds, and recorded 3 steals.

The statistics were basically identical. ALC shot 42% (29-69) from the floor and 37.9% (11-29) from deep. Unfortunately, they hurt themselves immensely by only sinking 45.8% (11-24) from the foul line. They added 45 rebounds, 17 assists and 9 steals.

Union (6-8) was led by Rufus with 20 points. His squad shot 45.6% (31-68) from the field, 30.3% (10-33) from long-range, and 64.3% (18-28) from the foul line. They added 47 rebounds, 25 assists and 10 steals.