New Albany, IN: The Alice Lloyd College Eagles continued River States Conference play as they faced the highly regarded Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers on Tuesday night. The Eagles battled hard for thirty minutes before fading down the end and falling, 81-99.
From the tipoff, the hosts came ready to play as they jumped out to a quick lead. However, paced by the shooting of senior guard Blake Smith and the inside play of sophomore forward Will Phillpot, ALC kept within striking distance. When Smith drained a long trifecta just before the half, ALC only trailed 38-43.
In the second half, the home club would see their spunky guests get as close as four (60-56), following a bucket from freshman center Noah Caudill off a beautiful assist from Phillpot (12:30).
However, with 9:30 remaining and the hosts hanging on to a 59-67 advantage, the tide suddenly turned. Over the next three minutes, Indiana forward David Burton would lead his club on a 13-0 run. When the smoke cleared, IU led 59-80, and they would maintain their cushion until the final buzzer.
For the Eagles (12-12; 6-6 RSC), four players reached double figures. They were led in scoring by Smith with 29 points (11-22 FG, 6-9 3FG). Fellow senior guard Ian Lee added 13.
Junior guard Noah Young and Phillpot added 12 and 11 respectively. Philpot completed the double-double as he ripped down 13 rebounds. Young led with 6 assists while Smith nabbed 3 steals.
Alice Lloyd shot 43.5% (30-69) from the floor and finished 46.2% (12-26) from behind the arc. They connected on 81.8% (9-11) from the foul line, and also added 31 rebounds, 16 assists, and 6 steals.
IUS, (7-3) was led in scoring by Burton with 25 points. His club finished shooting a blazing 58.7 % (37-63) from the floor and was accurate from deep, finishing at 52.2% (12-23). They shot 76.5% (13-17) from the foul line, and also added 38 rebounds, 14 assists, and 6 steals.
ALC is off until Saturday when they host conference foe Brescia University at 3:00 pm in a huge River States Conference contest.