Tough Overtime Loss for Eagles on the Road

Dayton, TN - The Eagles were playing their fourth game of the season on Tuesday evening with a road game with AAC opponent Bryan College. The Lyons of Bryan College are a scrappy team that can really shoot the ball. They would give the Eagles all they could handle in this one and eventually give Reinhardt their third loss of the year. It would take overtime to do it, but the Lions would come out on top by narrowly beating the Eagles 75-72.

 First, the Eagles did have an improvement from their previous three games of the early season where they did not start off trailing and spending the game trying to catch the opponent. The Eagles came out firing and standing toe-to-toe with the host Lyons which lasted throughout the game. Neither team shot the ball particularly well, especially from behind the arc, but they each made shots when they had to to keep the game even. Each team would try to make runs, but either missed shots or turnovers would keep both within firing range of each other.

It was a low-scoring game to start but did pick up a little as the game went on. The game was tied at 17 all with just seven minutes left in the first half on free throws from Antonio Spencer. Spender continues to make his mark on this team after joining just a few months ago. He would have 11 boards (7 offensive) and 8 points just shy of getting his second double-double game in a row.

Jalin Wimberly was not playing at 100% and his numbers were a little off from his season average - which is leading the team in scoring. Also, Greg Hobbs is nursing an injury from the Milligan game and this has left the Eagles a little thin at the point guard position. Once these two are back healthy again, the team will pick it up. Trying to make up for Wimberly's point production and Hobbs' floor leadership can create issues for the team, but it is part of the game and what everyone else has to deal with sometimes along the way. Look for both to heal up and get back to playing at their usual pace.

Tyler Smith and Tafari Thomas had really good games which kept the Eagles in this one and probably should have won the game before having to go to overtime. Smith had 18 points and 7 rebounds to lead the Eagles in scoring. Thomas would have another killer night on the boards pulling down 17 rebounds. Thomas is currently the conference leader in rebounds at 12.5 per game and should tick up slightly after tonight's performance. 17 is his high so far this season.

The Eagles went into the halftime break with a slight 31-30 lead. The first-half shooting percentage was a little low - especially from behind the arc. The Eagles would shoot just 21.4% with three-pointers going 4 for 13. The second half would improve a little from shooting three-pointers going 7 of 28 at 25%. This will definitely have to improve as the season advances and if they want to compete for the conference title.

The Lyons would just out to an early slight lead on the Eagles, but they could only get a six-point lead at the highest point.  The Eagles battled back from getting bench support from Jamison Syphore and Nate Louis with each scoring 11 points. Syphore would also pull down the Eagles.

The ending would be the highlight period of this game for the Eagles. Tyler Smith would tie the game at the end of the second half with just under thirty seconds left in the game.  After one last shot attempt from the Lyons, the first half would end with a 65-all tie. The overtime period would have the Eagles struggling a little and Bryan would edge them out 75-72. The Eagles did have one shot to tie the game right at the end, but the shot by Mekhi Mawdesley go a little long and bounce off the back of the iron with time running out. 

It was a game that the Eagles wish they could get back and many will feel that the Eagles should have won.  As the team continues to gel and players get healthy - look for this team to start getting the shooting percentage and making it hard for teams to keep up. If this happens, there is no doubt that this team will get on a streak.

The Eagles will be back on the road this Saturday when they visit Union College in Kentucky. Union basketball is always one of the tougher teams in the league, but the Eagles were able to take one win away from them this season and they will try to do the same this weekend. Tune into www. reinhardteagles.com for daily updates on games, results, and more.