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Pippa Passes, KY: The Alice Lloyd Eagles made a valiant comeback to force overtime, then saw Asbury sink a 35-foot bomb at the buzzer to send the game to a second overtime before winning on a late tip-in in the second OT, 116-114. The non-conference battle between the Eagles was played Thursday night, January 27th.

In the first half, the two clubs both came out producing points at a rapid pace, and Asbury led 25-21 at the ten-minute mark. By the time the clock went below six minutes, the lead was 10 (37-27). ALC would respond over the next five minutes with a 16-6 run to knot things at 41-41, but two late buckets from the visitors gave them a 49-45 advantage at intermission. In the second half, the visiting Eagles managed to hold onto the lead and looked to be in control (89-81) on an Eric Powell layup with 4:14 remaining in the stanza.

The Pippa Passes club refused to roll over and actually came back with a huge 13-2 blitz fueled by 7 points from sophomore guard Ben Soumahoro, to take a 94-91 lead with .44 showing. However, Asbury would get a steal and old-fashioned three-point play to tie things (94-94) with .28 remaining. ALC ran the clock down, but senior guard Noah Young’s attempt was short at the buzzer.

In OT, the score remained tight before the home squad got big buckets from Soumahoro and sophomore forward Damon Tobler to lead 105-101 with twelve ticks left. Asbury would score on the ensuing possession and then Young would sink 1-2 charity tosses with 2.8 left to play (106-103). Miraculously, Asbury would throw to half court and Powell would drain a 35-foot bomb at the buzzer to force a second OT.

In the second extra period, AU would grab the lead, but the host Eagles would rally to tie at 114-114 on a Tobler hoop at .36. Asbury would find big man Nick Fort. His jumper would miss, but his tip-in was true, and the Central Kentucky squad now led 116-114 with .05 left. On the ensuing possession, ALC would fumble the ball and fail to get a shot off as time expired, and Asbury had earned the upset victory.

For ALC (19-1), four players reached double figures. They were led on the night by Soumahoro, who had a career-high 33 points. He drilled 12-17 shots, grabbed 11 boards for the double-double, and had 5 assists and 2 steals. He was followed closely by Tobler with a career-high 29 points on 14-21 attempts. He added 8 boards and 3 assists. Junior guard Bryce Slone swished 6-8 trifectas to finish with 22 points while Young tossed in 18 points and dished out 11 assists. Junior forward Will Philpot yanked down 16 rebounds and contributed 6 points.

Alice Lloyd connected on 54.9% (45-82) from the field, and 42.9% (6-14) from long range. From the charity line, they sank 72% (18-25). Additionally, they registered 47 rebounds, 3 steals, and 25 assists.

Asbury (9-8) was led by Nick Fort with 36 points. His club connected on 52.3% (46-88) from the field and 52% (13-25) from long range. From the foul line, they shot 68.8% (11-16). They also had 37 rebounds, 5 steals, and 19 assists.

The Eagles return to action on Saturday, January 29th when they travel to Ohio to play Ohio Christian University. Tipoff is set for 1:00 pm.