Men's Basketball Uses Strong Defense to Overcome Conference-Leading Point (Ga.), 84-67

By Brandon Wright, RU Athletics

WALESKA, Ga. – The Eagles came to play Tuesday night as they used a strong defensive effort to hold Point (Ga.) to only 67 points while scoring 84 of their own and giving second-year head coach Justin Newton his 20^th win at Reinhardt.

Reinhardt, who improved to 13-5 overall (8-4 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC)), was led in scoring by Kristian Collins with 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Three other Eagles – Josh Press (13), Tafari Thomas (12) and Jalin Wimberly (12) – also scored in double digits.

"I think that's the best 40 minutes we've put together this year so far," head coach Justin Newton said. "Total team effort and we really guarded together and shared the ball on offense. Point is a heck of a team and our guys met the challenge. We had one of our guys, DJ Lampkin, out tonight and our guys dedicated the game to him and really answered the call. Our energy was phenomenal, and every time Point started to make a run, our guys stayed the course and bounced back."

The Eagles fell behind, 2-0, to start the game and then never trailed again. The Skyhawks were able to cut the lead to four points with 9:11 remaining in the first half, but Reinhardt then went on a 16-4 run to jump out to a 16-point lead with just over five minutes to go in the first half.

In addition to the strong defensive effort, the Eagles shot 19-of-38 (50 percent) from the field in the first half, allowing them to take a comfortable 47-32 lead into the locker room.

The second half went much like the first with the Eagles coming out of the gate strong and never looking back. The lead grew to as much as 24 points in the second half as Reinhardt's strong defensive effort allowed them to close out the game without the lead ever getting back to single digits.

Reinhardt's defense was excellent on the night, holding Point – who averaged 89 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field on the season coming into the night – to just 67 points and 36.4 percent shooting while forcing 23 turnovers.

The Eagles, who shot 41.9 percent on the night (31-for-74), also led the way on the boards by out-rebounding the Skyhawks, 46-43.

In addition to Thomas' 13 points, he also had 10 rebounds and four assists. Tyler Smith and Press also contributed 10 rebounds and four assists, respectively.

Collectively, the Eagles made 14 treys while holding the Skyhawks to just seven.

Point remains at the top spot in the AAC with a 16-4 record and 12-4 in conference play. With tonight's win, Reinhardt stays in third in the standings.

Thursday's home matchup versus St. Andrews (N.C.) has been postponed and replaced with a road trip to Bryan (Tenn.) at 5 p.m.

The Eagles will be back in action at home on Saturday against Milligan (Tenn.), who is 5-4 in AAC play and 5-5 overall. 

Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

For more information on Reinhardt Men's Basketball, please click here.