Second Half Run Buries the Royals

Waleska, GA - The Eagles kept things close in the first half of their weekend AAC game with the visiting Royals of Johnson University. Reinhardt would eventually go on to win the game 87 to 57 after a second-half barrage of scoring.

Tyler Smith would lead the way for the Eagles scoring 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the field, however, he did this in only seventeen minutes of play. He made the most of his time on the court and actually put the team on his back in the second half and put away the Royals who were looking to upset the favorite Eagles at home. Smith refused to let the Royals hang around and did everything in his power to give the Eagles the boost they needed to make the second-half run. Smith was 6 for 8 from the free throw line as well and this all helped in letting the Eagles pull away.

What was once a slim 39-34 halftime lead for the Eagles, quickly became an eleven-point lead on a Smith layup with just fourteen minutes left in the second half.  The Eagles never looked back from there and the eleven-point lead became twenty - then thirty in the final minutes.

The Eagles had four players in double-figure scoring. Along with Smith's 19 points, Nate Louis was second in scoring with 12 points and Tafari Thomas put in 11 points and had 9 rebounds. Thomas had a high-flying, monster dunk late in the second half from an alley opp assist from Fred Adams which sealed the deal for the Eagles. Antonio Spencer had another solid game scoring 10 points and pulling down 9 rebounds.

Jamison Syphore and Jalin Wimberly both had 9 points each - just shy of the Eagles having six players in double-figure scoring. Brandon Barron was a spark off the bench as well for the Eagles as he helped Greg Hobbs run the show and motor the Eagles past Johnson. Hobbs was in foul trouble most of the game so Barron had to back him up with great guard play.

It was a great second half of play for the Eagles where everyone was able to put their mark on the game. Tyler Merriweather was one of those players that made the most of their time on the floor quickly scoring five points and keeping the commanding lead for the Eagles.

The Eagles now have five AAC wins in a row after narrowly losing to conference leader, Union Bulldogs, back on January 5th. The Eagles have been playing great basketball the past few weeks and multiple players are stepping up when their name is called to lead the team when needed.

With just about three weeks left in the season, the Eagles are doing what they can to win out and move up the conference standings. As of the win against Johnson, the Eagles are sitting strong in third place and they have a chance to move up some if the wins keep coming. The rest of the way is going to be very exciting for the Eagles and it is a team that no one in the conference wants to face now or in the tournament.

Reinhardt will have two road games this week. They will face Montreat on Wednesday evening and then St. Andrews on Saturday.