The Asbury men’s basketball team took two big wins at the Luce, defeating Alice Lloyd on Saturday, Feb. 25 to win the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) Mideast Region Championship.
The Eagles secured the win and fought their way into the NCCAA National Tournament in Winona Lake, IN, with their victory over ALC. Asbury will make their second trip in back to back years to the tournament, looking to finish the job and bring an NCCAA National Championship home to Wilmore.
Senior forward Nick Fort demonstrated a big performance once again, scoring 24 points with 12 rebounds and nine assists. His performance gave 16 double-doubles to his season stat line heading into the National Tournament.
Sophomore forward Clayton Winter had a big career game. He shot 9-11 from the field with a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds to create his fourth double-double of the 2023 campaign.
Junior guard Caleb Wallis went a perfect 6-6 at the line for the Eagles, making two shots from beyond the arc for a solid 14 points.
Asbury completely dominated the backboard. They out rebounded Alice Lloyd 39-23. Asbury’s offense went 35-66 on the floor, shooting over 50 percent for the two nights consecutively.
The Eagle’s offense came out firing on all cylinders in the second half of the game. They scored 15 points within the first five minutes. Asbury took their largest lead of the night with 15 minutes to go, 53-32.
Then, Nick Fort led the way in the second half of the game with 16 points within Asbury’s 50 point half.
Finally, the Eagles went 18-30 in the third and fourth quarter, shooting 60 percent and going 4-9 from downtown.
Asbury’s defense bullied Alice Lloyd to only 70 points in the entire game, holding on to take the Regional Championship. The boys moved to an overall record of 19-6 on the season, ending with a home record of 9-3.
The Eagles will look to prepare for the National Tournament, beginning next Wednesday, March 15.