Pittsburgh, PA- The Alice Lloyd Eagles traveled to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania over the weekend for an important two-game conference road trip against Carlow University and Point Park University. The Eagles earned a split in the weekend series. Following are recaps of each matchup.
January 25
ALC Eagles – 99
Carlow Celtics -74
Blake Smith
The Alice Lloyd College Eagles jumped out to a twelve point cushion at the half and cruised to a 99-74 victory over the home-standing Carlow Celtics. The River States matchup was held on Friday.
In the first half, the hosts sprinted out to a quick 7-2 lead before the Eagles settled down.
From that point, ALC relied on the one-two punch of juniors Blake Smith and Chance Cornett to lead the way. The duo combined for 30 first-half points. As a result, the Eagles would take a 43-21 advantage by intermission.
In the second half, Alice Lloyd Coach JR Hammond would see the lead chipped to nine (53-44) in the first five minutes.
Turning to his bench, he got huge minutes from freshman guard Chandler Stewart and junior forward Ian Lee. The duo joined Smith to account for all the points in a stunning 15-3 blitz. When the dust had settled, the Caney Creek men led 68-47 with 13:02 remaining, and they were never challenged again.
For ALC (10-12; 4-7 RSC), they were led by the solid play of Smith with his game-high 26 points (11-19 FG) and 9 rebounds. Stewart played exceptional as he produced career highs of 22 points (7-9 FG) and 9 assists while adding 2 steals.
Cornett finished with 17 points while Lee contributed 11
Alice Lloyd won by shooting 49.3 % from the field (36-73) and an impressive 55.6% (10-18) from deep. They also sank just 58.6% of their free throws (17-29). Additionally, they had 48 big rebounds, 26 assists, and 7 steals.
Carlow (1-22; 0-10 RSC) was led by Cole Novotney with 20 points. His club was limited to just 36.1% (26-76) field goal shooting and 32.2% (10-31) from long range. They connected on 60% (12-20) of their charity tosses. They also had 46 rebounds, 20 assists, and 4 steals.
January 26
ALC Eagles – 73
Point Park Pioneers – 81
Chance Cornett
The Alice Lloyd College Eagles put up a valiant fight before succumbing at the hands of the Point Park Pioneers, 81-73. The game was held Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In the first half, the two squads played evenly in an entertaining twenty minutes of play.
After a long stretch that saw neither club lead by more than a possession, the Eagles would manage to take their largest lead at 37-30 when junior guard Blake Smith bagged a jumper at 5:04.
However, from that point, PPU would close the half on a 12-1 run to take a 42-38 advantage heading into intermission.
In the second half, Alice Lloyd would keep close and eventually retie the game at 46. From that point, the two clubs continued to trade hoops once more as the fans definitely got their monies worth.
Eventually, when ALC junior forward Chance Cornett connected with 5:34 left to play, the score stood tied at 64. The game was either teams’ for the taking.
Unfortunately, over the next two minutes, the Pioneers produced five consecutive points to pull ahead 69-64.
The visitors would claw within two (70-68) following Cornett’s mid-range jumper with just 2:32 remaining, but the hometown club would respond with a huge trifecta and a short jumper to extend the lead to seven (75-68), and hold on for the win.
For ALC (10-13; 4-8 RSC), they were led by the solid play of Smith and Cornett. Smith produced game highs with 24 points (11-21 FG) and 10 rebounds, while Cornett tossed in 20 points (9-14 FG) and also grabbed 10 boards. Senior forward Simon Christon led with 4 assists and added 8 rebounds of his own.
Alice Lloyd connected on 40.3 % from the field (31-77), but just 19.2% (5-26) from deep. They sank 75% of their free throws (6-8), but only had two attempts in the second half. Additionally, they owned the glass with 52 big rebounds and added 11 assists and 3 steals.
PPU (7-13; 4-8 RS) was led by Asim Pleas with 20 points. His club shot 45.8% (27-59) from the field and won the game from downtown, sinking 43.3% (13-30). They connected on 70% (14-20) of their charity tosses, and also had 29 rebounds, 13 assists, and 6 steals.
Alice Lloyd returns to the hardwood on Tuesday, January 29th, when top-thirty Indiana University Southeast comes to Pippa Passes for a contest with big conference implications. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm.