Pittsburgh, PA: The undefeated Alice Lloyd College Eagles unleashed a devastating 34-7 run in the second half, and rode that momentum all the way to a big 94-84 win over the homestanding Point Park University Pioneers. The River States Conference (RSC) matchup took place Saturday, January 15 in the Keystone state.
In the opening half, things started slowly as the score was tied at 8-8 four minutes in. However, showing their incredible balance, five different Eagles would score as the visitors would reel off a 17-4 burst in just five minutes to force a time out. At this juncture, ALC would lead 25-12 with 10:23 showing.
However, the Caney Creek club would turn surprisingly cold, which allowed PPU to chip into the deficit. It would take a jumper from Eagle senior guard Noah Young just before the buzzer to give his club a slight advantage (33-31) at intermission.
The second half started as the opening one ended. Point Park would score the first 3 points of the stanza to lead 34-33 (18:31). It looked as if Alice Lloyd was in for a dogfight. From that juncture, the Pippa Passes posse went wild. Sparked by a combined 18 points from sophomore guard Ben Soumahoro and Young, and smothering defense from the entire squad, the Eagles would unveil a 34-7 tsunami over the next eight minutes. Suddenly, with 10:52 remaining, the guests led 65-41. For all intent and purposes, the game was over.
The Pioneers looked to chip their way back, but the contest was never in doubt. A few late buckets from the hometown team would set the final score as Alice Lloyd would mark up another outstanding victory in the win column.
For the victors (17-0; 8-0 RSC), four players would reach double digits. Young would lead the way in fine fashion with his game-high 22 points on 9-13 FG (2-2 3FG). He also doled out 9 big assists. The veteran was followed in the scoring column by Soumahoro with 18 points on 5-8 FG. He added 7 boards and 2 steals. Junior forward Will Philpot added 14 points on 5-7 shooting and garnered 6 boards. Sophomore guard Damon Tobler added 11 points and hauled down a career-high 17 rebounds. He also added 6 assists and 2 blocks.
Alice Lloyd shot 48% (36-75) from the floor, and 38.1% (8-21) from behind the arc. They finished 63.6% (14-22) from the foul line. They also controlled the glass, grabbing 48 rebounds, while adding 22 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks.
PPU (8-8; 3-5 RSC) was led by Sherron Schifino with 22 points. His squad shot 45.2% (28-62) from the floor, and 31% (9-29) from behind the arc. They finished 79.2% (19-24) from the foul line, and also had 34 rebounds, 16 assists, and 7 steals.
The Eagles return to action this week for two huge home conference tilts against the two squads that advanced to last year’s NAIA National Tournament. On Thursday, January 20th they will face the #23 ranked West Virginia Tech Golden Bears (16-2) at 7:30 pm. They then host the Rio Grande University Red Storm (11-8) on Saturday, January 22nd, at 1:00 pm.