Pippa Passes, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Eagles faced the visiting Brescia University Bearcats on February 10 in a big conference matchup. In a high-scoring affair, BU held on for the 101-99 victory.
In the opening half, the two clubs piled on the points, but the hosts never trailed. When Eagle sophomore guard Blake Smith canned a jumper in the paint with 1:42 showing, the lead was comfortable at 51-41. However, Brescia would close the half on a 7-0 run backed by the play of guards Jordan Cooper-Livers and Tavon Johnson. Still, Alice Lloyd would lead 51-48 at intermission.
In the second half, ALC would hold their advantage until Cooper-Livers drained a big trifecta at 16:18 to give his squad their first lead of the game, 60-58. Eagle freshman guard Timmy Dalton would answer a few minutes later to help the hosts regain the advantage at 63-62, but little did any of the home fans in attendance realize that this would be Alice Lloyd’s final lead of the night.
Over the final fourteen minutes of play, Brescia would keep a cushion between 1-6 points. It appeared that every time the boys from Caney would need to get one stop to have a chance to regain the lead, one of the Bearcat guards would always find the bottom of the net. ALC would get within 1 point (100-99) with just 2.7 ticks remaining after sophomore forward Chance Cornett drained a 25-foot bomb, but BU responded as Cooper-Livers sank a big free throw and missed the second attempt on purpose to ensure there would be no chance of a miracle buzzer-beater.
For ALC (14-11; 7-9 RSC), they were led by Smith with 24 points on 10-16 attempts. Sophomore forward Chance Cornett and Dalton finished with 18 and 17 points apiece while each grabbed 8 boards. Senior center Jake Allen added 13 points and 7 rebounds. Fellow senior guard Austin Crisp and junior forward Dondre Warren both chipped in 10 points. Warren had a double-double as he snared 11 rebounds while adding 2 steals. Crisp and Dalton led in assists with 4 apiece.
The team statistics reveal just how close the contest was. Alice Lloyd connected on 51.9% (41-79) from the field and just 20% (3-15) from long range. They also hurt themselves by shooting 58.3% (14-24) from the foul line. They added 43 rebounds, 12 assists, and 6 steals.
BU (10-16; 8-8 RSC) was led by Cooper-Livers and Johnson with 29 and 26 points respectively. Their club connected on 51.3% (41-80) from the field including just 25% (3-12) from long range. They hit 61.5% (16-26) from the foul line and added 35 rebounds, 9 assists, and 10 steals.
ALC returns to action on Tuesday, February 13th when they travel to Ohio to face Cincinnati Christian University in an important conference match at 7:30 pm. They close out the regular season Saturday, February 17th when they face conference opponent Indiana University Kokomo in the last regular season contest to be played at the Grady Nutt Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm. This will also be senior day.