Eagles Taking Care of Business on the Road

David FInney

West Point, GA -  The Eagles headed south this Saturday to visit Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) host, Point University. Coach Newton and the guys were coming in off a big road victory against Truett McConnell on Tuesday and they were looking to add one more before conference leader, Union, comes into Waleska, GA on Tuesday evening.

The game would start with Jalin Wimberly scoring the first thirteen points of the game which came from three three-pointers, one layup, and a drive down-the-lane dunk. This would give the Eagles a 13-2 advantage early and Wimberly was red hot. It would not take long to get Kristian Collins and Tyler Smith into the scoring act as both put up the next four points extending the lead to twelve. Unlike the past few games, the Eagles were setting the tone for the game early and creating a hole for the Skyhawks of Point University. 

Point would get the lead down to four points with about six minutes left in the first half, however, Marcus Kirkland would make sure that would be as close as they would get with two back-to-back layups. Kirkland is the workhorse for our Eagles and seems to get the tough basket, rebound, or steal when the team needs it most. He is a solid, fundamentally sound player who is consistent whenever he is on the floor.

Later, the Eagles would extend the lead back to thirteen points on two free throws from Dereck Lampkin around the two-minute mark in the first. The Eagles would take a fifteen-point lead into halftime on a jumper from Tyler Smith and a layup by Tafari Thomas, 37-22.

The second half would continue with Reinhardt showing their athleticism, speed, and strength against the Skyhawks shooting 58.6% from the field. For the game, the Eagles shot 53.4% from the field and 70% from the free-throw line. The lead would get as high as twenty-four points after Wimberly hit another three-pointer around the fifteen-minute mark. Point would get it down to fourteen at midway through the first half, but the Eagles quickly got the lead back to twenty on free throws by Greg Hobbs.  Hobbs was 4 for 4 from the free-throw line on the night. Collins led the way in the second half scoring 12 points and Wimberly added nine to his total. The lead would never get any closer than the fourteen points as the Eagles ran away with the victory, 83-66.

Wimberly would lead the Eagles in scoring with 22 points. Kirkland and Collins both added 16 points each and Smith would finish with 11 points. Tafari Thomas, who had a few electrifying dunks, played solid and led the team in rebounds with 10,

This was another superb performance by Coach Newton's Eagles who are currently in the fifth position in the conference standings. This coming week is very important for Reinhardt as they play the current first-place team in the conference, Union, on Tuesday evening and then they play the fourth position team, Bryan, this Saturday afternoon. Both games are at the Brown Athletic Center in Waleska. If you have not seen this team in action - do yourself a favor and come watch them play. They are an athletic, high-energy team that is very entertaining and doing great things for Reinhardt University!