Tough Night Shooting on the Road
David Finney
Elizabethton, TN - The Reinhardt Eagles started off the new year on the road with a conference game with Milligan University. Coming into the game, the Milligan Buffaloes had just one win on the season and were at the bottom of the conference, however, Coach Newton and the Eagles know no one can be taken lightly - especially when you are playing on the road in the rugged Appalachian Athletic Conference.
The game would start with both teams not shooting the ball particularly well, but it was Reinhardt that would have the tougher time getting things going. The Eagles would not see their first points of the game until almost five minutes into the first half. It was a layup by Marcus Kirkland that would take the invisible lid off the basket and put Reinhardt in the scoring column. There was reason for a little concern early on, however, the Eagles have proven that they can get hot at any moment and rattle off a run that can be devastating to a team.
On the positive side for Reinhardt was that Milligan was not shooting the ball much better and this left the door open for the Eagles to get back into the game. The remainder of the first half would be chipping away at the lead which did reach thirteen points with about five minutes left. If you have watched the Eagles this season, you know that they score in bunches and can play intense defense creating havoc for their opponents. The Eagles did have a run in them and it was started with two made free-throws and a follow-up three-pointer from Tafari Thomas. Shortly after, Kirkland would make three free throws and then a layup by Tyler Smith would tie the game at 23. The scoring drought for the Buffaloes lasted almost the final six minutes of the half which let Reinhardt catch them. Milligan was able to get three free throws inside the final minute giving them a 26-23 lead at the break.
The second half was an opportunity for Reinhardt to start over and build on the run that they just had in the final moments of the first half. Tafari Thomas would be the one that put the Eagles in the lead for the first time in the game with an offensive rebound and put-back layup in the first minute of the second half. Thomas had a solid game coming off the bench with a double-double in scoring and rebounds. He had eleven points and fourteen rebounds - eight of which were offensive rebounds.
Keyshaun Street would get into the scoring act helping the Eagles keep pace with Milligan hitting a three-pointer assisted by Thomas. Around the thirteen-minute mark, Reinhardt started getting a lead on Milligan when Jalyn Wimberly had a strong "and-one" layup and free throw giving the Eagles a six-point lead. The fans from Milligan were silenced as they saw their thirteen-point lead vanish and now it was the Buffaloes that were seeing a deficit building. Reinhardt would see their largest lead of the game on another layup and free-throw from Wimberly.
The Eagles started to take control of this game and they would keep a consistent six to ten-point lead until Reinhardt would go on another dry spell inside the five-minute mark. Tyler Smith's jumper at five minutes would be the last points the Eagles would score until Kirkland would make one of two free throws around two minutes left in the game. Unfortunately, this opened the door for Milligan to start working their way back into the game. Missed shots, missed free throws, and turnovers plagued Reinhardt in the last couple of minutes of the game and Milligan would take the lead on a layup with thirty seconds left. The Eagles had two shots at getting a game-winning three-pointer, but both shots came up short and time expired.
It was a disappointing loss for Coach Newton and his team, however, they'll learn from these mistakes and put this game behind them. The schedule does not slow with the next game coming up this Thursday afternoon back on the familiar hardwood of the Brown Athletic Center. There is no doubt that Coach Newton will have the Eagles ready to go when Johnson University from Tennessee visits the campus of Reinhardt!