Waleska, GA: The Alice Lloyd College Eagles, under the guidance of Coach Scott Cornett, traveled to the peach state on Tuesday to face the Reinhardt University Eagles. In an impressive display of teamwork, the visitors lead the entire way and earned the convincing 89-67 victory.
Alice Lloyd came out of the gates well as both squads traded buckets early. With the contest tied at 16-16 entering the midway point of the quarter, the visiting Eagles would get a big boost from their bench.
First sophomore guard Bryce Slone would bag two long-range bombs. Next, sophomore guard Chandler Stewart would connect from 17 feet. Later, when freshman Tanner Perdue delivered an old-fashioned 3-point play at the 8:00 mark, the score read 27-16. After RU’s leading scorer Josh Daniels sank a 10-foot shot to slice into the deficit (27-18), Slone promptly answered with yet another 25-foot bomb. When the smoke had cleared, the tally read 30-18. ALC would enter the dressing room leading 38-28.
In the second half, Reinhardt would fight back with a 9-2 spurt barely two minutes in, and only trail 40-37. Quickly, the game appeared headed for a nail-biter. However, on the next Eagle possession, Slone would connect once more from the parking lot and get fouled on the attempt. His rare four-point play was just the fuel the Eagles needed and gave them the incentive to leave everything on the line.
Senior guard Blake Smith and junior guard Noah Young then combined to score 10 consecutive points for their squad. From that juncture, Alice Lloyd would totally take command and see their advantage reach its zenith of 29 points (86-57) following a strong bucket from big-man Colin Sturgill with under two minutes remaining.
On the night, ALC (6-4) was led in scoring by Smith, with a game-high 21 points. He also added 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. He was followed by Slone with 16 points, on 5-9 three-point shots. Perdue finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds while Young added 10 points and 4 assists. Additionally, Sturgill contributed 8 points and a game-high 9 boards while sophomore forward Will Philpot was solid with 9 points and 7 rebounds of his own.
Alice Lloyd shot 47.1% (32-68) from the floor, and 33.3% (9-27) from behind the arc. They finished 72.7%% (16-22) from the foul line while grabbing 47 rebounds, dishing out 15 assists, and gaining 6 steals.
RU (3-2) was led by Daniels with 18 points. His club finished shooting 38.5% (25-65) from the floor and 35.2% (6-17) from behind the arc. They also shot 78.5% (11-14) from the foul line. They also registered 30 rebounds, 13 assists, and 8 steals.
After a well-deserved Thanksgiving break, Alice Lloyd returns home on Tuesday, December 3rd to face a powerful Indiana University Southeast Grenadier (Receiving Votes) club in the River States Conference play. The doubleheader starts at 5:30 pm with women’s action while the men tipoff at 7:30 pm.