Blake Smith
Campbellsville, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Eagles had the difficult task of facing powerful Campbellsville University on the road, and they suffered a 109-79 defeat at the hands of the Tigers. The matchup was played Tuesday night.
In the opening half, things started on an ominous note for the visitors. After Eagles junior guard Blake Smith sank the opening hoop of the night to give his club a quick 2-0 lead, they would then watch the Tigers explode with an 18-7 run over the next five minutes to sprint ahead and force a timeout. They would continue their solid play and with 8:48 remaining, CU led 36-17.
However, over the next three minutes, ALC would unleash their own big guns. When junior forward Chance Cornett swished a 25-foot bomb at the 5:27 mark, he would culminate a stunning 14-1 blitz by the guests. Suddenly, the deficit was just six, at 37-31.
Unfortunately, the Tigers would show their toughness as they closed the half on an 18-7 run. They would manage a 55-38 advantage at intermission.
In the second half, CU, having witnessed first-hand the type of explosion their guests were capable of, refused to give any ground. They would quickly get the lead up to 29 points as they opened the final stanza on a 20-8 burst. Alice Lloyd would battle, but they would never get the deficit in the teens again.
For the victors (5-0), they had six players reach double figures, with guard Tyler Hagen’s 21 points leading the way.
CU finished shooting an impressive 55.1% (43-78) from the floor and was a solid 48.3% (14-29) from behind the arc. They shot 60% (15-25) from the foul line. They also added 45 rebounds, 24 assists, and 9 steals.
ALC (2-3) was led in scoring by the sophomore Smith, who wound up with 18 points. He also led in rebounds with 6. The guard was joined in double digits by Cornett with 14 points while sophomore guard Noah Young and senior guard Ryan House added 12 and 11 points respectively. Senior forward Simon Christon and sophomore guard Austin Combs led the club with 3 assists apiece. Junior forward Ian Lee had 2 steals.
Alice Lloyd shot 42.4% (328-66) from the floor and 29%% (9-31) from behind the arc. They finished 70% (14-20) from the foul line. They also added 31 rebounds, 9 assists, and 7 steals.
Things do not get any easier as Alice Lloyd plays their next game on Thursday, November 15th when they travel to Wise (VA) to face NCAA DII foe, the University of Virginia-Wise in a 7:00 pm tip-off.