Eagles Runaway with Huge Home Win!

David Finney | photos by Gian-Luca Fahling

Waleska, GA - The first two shots of this game would be a sign of what was to come for the rest of the game. Tyler Smith scored the first four points of the game on two breakaway dunks and the Eagles were off to a fast start. Milligan University was visiting Reinhardt on Tuesday evening for an end-of-season conference game and they were facing an Eagle team that is peaking at the right time. The last time these two met, it was under different circumstances and it took the Eagles several minutes into the first half before they would score.  Tonight would be much different as Reinhardt wasted no time pushing out to an early 7-0 lead in the first two minutes.

Milligan would work their way back into the game getting the lead cut to three at 10-7, but that would be as close as the Buffalos from Milligan would get for the remainder of the game.  The crowd at The Brown Athletic Center was loud and helped to make it a hostile environment for the visitors.  The pep band was rolling, the student section was on their feet, and Coach Newton's crew were having fun doing their thing on the court.  They pushed the gas and the Eagles got moving. In what seemed to be a matter of seconds - the lead was stretched to ten, 17-7.

The high-flyer, Jalin Wimberly, threw down a hammer dunk on the baseline after receiving a pass from Josh Press who scrambled to the floor for a loose ball. Tafari Thomas, Nate Louis, and Keyshaun Street all hit three-pointers in a row and the game was pushed to an eighteen-point lead.  The Eagles would never look back from this point spread and it would only grow as the game continued.  Reinhardt made sure to not let what happened when the two teams faced earlier in the season. It was clear that these were two teams on different levels and the Eagles are looking to make a lot of noise in the AAC Tourney.

The second half would see the lead hover around twenty or above for the first ten minutes and all the Eagles were contributing. The game finally hit a thirty-point lead on a layup by Marcus Kirkland just inside ten minutes left. The remaining minutes of the game would see Coach Newton clear his bench for all the players to get significant minutes. Malachi Gayle came into score on a short jumper and a long-range three-pointer. Jawdat Razeq hit a three-pointer as well and the guys on the team erupted in celebration! Reinhardt would continue on to win this one with a commanding 93-66 victory!

Tyler Smith would lead the Eagles in scoring with 16 points on 6-9 shooting from the field. Three others were in double-figures for the Eagles as well - Kristian Collins - 10, Nate Louis - 11, and Tafari Thomas - 10. Jalin Wimberly and Josh Press both had 9 points each.

The Eagles will be on the road this Saturday as they visit Bluefield in Virginia and then they will turn around for a Monday matchup with conference leader, Union (KY). Come out and see this exciting team before the regular season comes to a close.