Eagles Basketball Win Streak Extends to Six!

David Finney | photo by G-Rox Photography

Bluefield, VA - The 2021-22 basketball regular season is winding up, but teams are not finished doing their necessary work to find their final spots in the AAC Tournament. The Eagles have been on a run and have moved up a few places in the standings.  Currently, they sit in the #2 position just behind Union.  On Saturday, the Eagles were on the road visiting Bluefield University in Virginia who are currently in the 6th position in the AAC. This was going to be tough competition for the Eagles who are playing great basketball at this point in the season, but the Rams are jockeying for position as well and were looking to steal one at home against the visiting Eagles.

This would be a game that saw ten lead changes in the first half with the Eagles holding the largest lead along the way at six points.  Most of the first half was tight with just a point or two as each team tried figuring each other out. Josh Press would start the scoring for the Eagles on a quick layup inside the first ten minutes. The Eagles would do most of their damage inside the three-point line for this game as they shot only 20% at 5 for 24 shooting in the game. Reinhardt had a few three-point misses in the first half that would have given them a bigger lead, however, when the three shots are not falling - they picked it up and start scoring on the inside.

Nate Louis would be the "pick-me-up" that the Eagles needed coming off the bench around the sixteenth-minute mark. He made his presence know quickly when he hit a long three-pointer and then a transition dunk after a steal by Josh Press.  The Eagles were out and running and that can mean trouble for the opponents, but the Rams would hang tough and answer with big shots of their own keeping the game close.  Bluefield was able to get their highest lead of the first half at five points just inside the five-minute mark on a three-pointer and a free throw.  A quick timeout by Coach Newton stopped the Bluefield run and Reinhardt was able to pull back within two on a Kristian Collins three-pointer, 36-34 Rams.  Josh Press would score the final points of the first half on a three-pointer getting the Eagles back to just one down of the Rams, 37-38 at the half.

The second half would see the same type of game as the first half with several lead changes and mini-runs by each team. Press and Collins would score a quick four points to start the second half with Press scoring on a layup just as he did in the first.  Collins scored on a jump shot. Jalin Wimberly would get into the scoring act on a dunk around the fourteen-minute mark getting the Eagles hyped up and running, however, as hard as the Eagles played - Bluefield was determined to not let them run away with the game. They were able to cut into the narrow Eagle lead and tie it at 56 with about ten minutes left in the game.

Kristian Collins showed that he was much more than a three-point shooting threat as he scored on a layup and then a dunk inside the ten-minute mark. This still did not waiver the minds of Bluefield as they kept coming at Reinhardt in the final minutes. Tafari Thomas was able to throw down a dunk with around four minutes left giving the Eagles a lift and their largest lead at four points in the second half.

With just one minute left in the game, Nate Louis would hit a couple of free throws giving Reinhardt a 75-70 lead. The Eagles would have to show they can shoot free throws to keep their lead and finish out the game.  They had a few free throw misses allowing Bluefield to work the lead down to 76-73 with just ten seconds left. Josh Press had the final point of the game which came on a free throw giving the Eagles a 77-73 lead as time ran off the clock.

It was not the best shooting game for the Eagles, but this was a sign of a good team being able to play different styles and do what is needed to secure a win. Nate Louis would lead Reinhardt with 19 points followed by Kristian Collins 17 points. Josh Press would reach double figures in scoring with 11. Tafari Thomas had a solid game as well just missing out on double-figure scoring with 9 points and he grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Eagles win.

This win puts the win streak of the Eagles at six as they welcome Union to the Brown Athletic Center for a Monday evening matchup between the current #1 and #2 ranked teams in the AAC. Expect this one to be a barnburner as both teams have work to accomplish on the court.