Pippa Passes, KY: The Alice Lloyd Eagles made the first game played in their new gymnasium a special one as they blasted the Carlow University (PA) Celtics 105-74. The River States Conference (RSC) matchup was played Thursday, January 30th.
ALC christened the new Perry Campus Center in style, and an excited group of fans was on-hand to witness the beautiful new home of the Eagles basketball squads.
In the first half, the hosts wasted little time in showing they loved their new surroundings. Sophomore guard Chandler Stewart came off the bench to lend a nice spark, His jumper at 11:55 gave the hosts their first double-digit lead (25-14). Little did anyone realize at the time that the Celtics would never get within single-digits again
From that point, ALC closed the half with a massive 29-17 explosion. As a result, the Eagles would take a 54-31 advantage by intermission.
In the second half, Alice Lloyd Coach Scott Cornett would see his men’s lead grow to thirty-five points (77-42) following a triple from Stewart at 12:01.
The visitors continued to play hard, but they were never able to mount a threat as the Eagles mentor was able to freely utilize his bench the majority of the night. When the final buzzer sounded, the large Caney Creek contingency on hand was able to exit the building in a jovial mood.
For ALC (11-11; 5-5 RSC), they were led by the solid play of senior guard Blake Smith, who made the sport look easy with his game-high 29 points (12-18 FG).
Stewart played an impressive game, as he produced 18 points (7-11 FG). He also tied big Idris Akinyemi with 3 steals apiece
Junior guard Noah Young and sophomore big man Colyn Sturgill each contributed 13 points on a combined 10-17 shooting. Additionally, Sturgill made some nice passes and led the way with 4 assists.
Sophomore Bryce Slone drained three bombs for 9 points while sophomore forward Will Phillpot grabbed 8 boards and scored 8 points in limited action.
Alice Lloyd won by shooting 51.3 % from the field (40-78) and 39.3% (11-28) from deep. They also sank 70% of their free throws (14-20). Additionally, they had 44 big rebounds, 15 assists, and 9 steals.
Carlow (1-22; 0-10 RSC) was led by Marcus Millien with 18 points. His club sank 44.4% (28-63) from the field and 37.5% (6-16) from long range. They connected on 64.7% (11-17) of their charity tosses. They also had 33 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals.
ALC returns home this Saturday, February 1st with a huge RSC showdown with Point Park (PA). Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm.