Ian Lee
Owensboro, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Eagles traveled to Owensboro (KY) on Saturday, February 2nd to battle RSC foe Brescia University in a crucial matchup. The Caney Creek boys put together their best opening half of the year and rode that effort to pull out a dominant 87-68 victory.
From the tipoff, the Eagles came ready to play as they quickly grabbed the lead. When junior guard Ian Lee drained a 17-foot jumper at 10:27, the guests had their first double-digit advantage of the day (21-11). They were just heating up.
Over the next six minutes, ALC would roll out a 20-5 blitz. When junior guard Blake Smith connected on a jumper in the paint with 4:37 remaining, the guests led 41-16.
When the horn eventually sounded for intermission, the home fans were stunned to see Alice Lloyd ahead by the commanding score of 54-25.
In the second half, the Bearcats, who had been one of the league’s top teams most of the season, fought back.
Led by the play of Kayode Daboiku, BU came out of the gates determined to make up ground. When Daboiku eventually sunk a contested jumper in the paint with 9:43 remaining in the contest, the deficit had shrunk to just ten (68-58).
The home crowd was delirious, thinking of the possibility of a miraculous comeback. Finally, the Eagles said enough was enough.
Over the next four minutes, the Eagles would put the game out of reach for good as they whipped off a 13-4 spurt. With five minutes remaining in the contest, the lead was back to 19 (81-62), and the visitors were never threatened again.
For ALC (8-3; 2-1 RSC), four players reached double figures. They were led in scoring by the steady Smith with 19 points (9-16 FG), 8 rebounds, and 2 assists.
For the second consecutive game, Lee provided huge minutes off the bench as he finished with 18 points (7-11 FG; 4-6 3FG). He also pulled down 7 rebounds.
Junior forward Chance Cornett and sophomore guard Noah Young added 14 and 10 points apiece while senior forward Simon Christon chipped in with 8 points and 7 rebounds. Fellow senior Ryan House led with 2 steals and added 2 assists.
For the victors (11-14; 5-9 RSC), they shot 47.9% (35-73) from the floor and finished 37.5% (9-24) from behind the arc. They connected on 61.5%% (8-13) from the foul line, and also added 42 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals.
The Bearcats (12-11; 9-5 RSC) were led in scoring by Daboiku with 25 points. His club finished shooting 40.6% (26-64) from the floor and just 18.2 % (4-22) from behind the arc. They shot 60% (12-20) from the foul line, and also added 41 rebounds, 14 assists, and 5 steals.
ALC returns to action on Tuesday, February 5th for a big home conference showdown with Cincinnati Christian University at 7:30 pm.