Alice Lloyd Basketball falls in RSC Quarter-Finals to top seeded Saint Mary Of the Woods

Saint Mary of the Woods, IN: On February 26th, the Alice Lloyd Eagles basketball squad journeyed to the Indiana-Illinois border to battle the River States top squad (RV) Saint Mary of the Woods. The hosts controlled the game the majority of the way against their cold-shooting foes and took the big 102-62 victory.

The Pomeroys came out hot, led by all-conference guard Greg Jenkins, and raced to a quick 19-9 advantage at 11:01. The Eagles answered with buckets from senior forward Ben Soumahoro and junior guard Koji Anderson to slice the deficit in half at 19-14, and then missed a good look to get even closer. However, Jenkins and big 6'10 Shon Tupuola sparked a big run by the Hoosier club and they slowly pulled ahead by sixteen (43-27) with 2:21 showing on the scoreboard. 

Fortunately, ALC then used an old-fashioned three-point play from sophomore guard Desmier Hatchett to close with a quick 7-2 burst and the Indiana crew would lead 45-34 at intermission. The Pippa Passes posses was down, but definately not out.

In the second half, the Eagles would try to answer, and missed a pair of good shots early. Saint Mary took full advantage, using a quartet of trifectas to roll off a 15-5 blitz in just over four minutes. Suddenly, with 15:44 remaining, the hosts led 60-39.

From there, the home club stayed hot and steadily pulled away against the cold-shooting Bluegrass boys to advance to the semi-final round.

For normally high-scoring Alice Lloyd (19-9) they were led on the night by Soumahoro and Anderson, both with 15 points. Hatchett also reached double-figures as he chipped in with 13 points. Additionally, junior guard Wilgus Tolson provided 12 points. The quartet did connect on a combined 19-31 field goals. 

Soumahoro led in rebounds with 7 while Anderson paced the squad with 3 assists

On the day, the Caney Creek crew finished at just 35.5% (22-62) from the field, including only 20% (5-25) from beyond the arc. They also hit 76.5% (13-17) from the charity stripe, grabbed 25 rebounds, handed out 6 assists, and nabbed 4 steals. 

 SMWC (24-5) was led by Jenkins with 26 points and Tupuola with 17 points and 18 rebounds. Their squad connected on a blazing 57.4% (39-68) from the field, including 42.9% (9-21) from long range. They were also 83.3% (15-18) from the charity line. Additionally, they nabbed 48 rebounds, handed off 19 assists, and stole 7 balls. 

The Eagles season is not over as they now wait for the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament. The dates and opponents will be announced shortly, but Alice Lloyd will be the host school for the crucial event.