Twice is Nice! CCU tops Alice Lloyd for 2nd KIAC MBB title in three years
Twice is Nice! CCU tops Alice Lloyd for 2nd KIAC MBB title in three years
BOX SCORE / BRACKET
(Story by Josh Mann -- CCU Sports Information)
PIPPA PASSES, Ky. -- Cincinnati Christian University men's basketball returned to the championship game in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night. CCU claimed its second conference title in three seasons with a 79-69 victory at Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College.
This game was everything you wanted a championship game to be like. Multiple All-KIAC players for each team, the top two teams in the KIAC Capital Division playing for the third time this season, and a trip to the NAIA Division II National Championship on the line.
The first half saw a back and forth battle with neither team leading by more than seven points until right before halftime. CCU went a crucial, 8-0 run that started at the 4:50 mark in the first half, and that propelled them into a 31-22 halftime lead.
CCU did not rest on their lead and came out in the second half firing on all cylinders and blowing the game wide open.
The visiting Eagles used the first ten minutes of the second half to outscore the host Eagles 28-13, which resulted in a 59-35 lead, the largest of the game. Alice Lloyd tried to mount a comeback late in the half but could get no closer than nine points.
The seniors for CCU have been valuable all season long, but tonight the Eagles were led by underclassmen. Junior Nick Seibert led CCU with a game-high 23 points, while Khari Burton and Blake Walsman chipped in 15 points apiece. ALC was led by Tyler Combs with 18 points.
CCU (23-8) will await its seeding and pairing for the national tournament, which will be revealed during the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Selection Show on Wednesday, March 2 at 7 p.m. ET.