Eagles' Halftime Lead Slips in Second Half of Matchup with Truett McConnell

Waleska, GA - In a pre-Thanksgiving match, Reinhardt Men's Basketball, led by the top scorers Tee Williams and AJ Shaw, were narrowly defeated by the Truett McConnell Bears with a final score of 69-64. The game somewhat mirrored the ending of the game with Georgia Gwinnett a couple of games ago, where the Eagles had narrowed the lead to just three points late in the game, only to come up short by a crucial put-in by their opponents. Shaw hit a deep three-pointer with only about fifteen seconds left in the game to bring the game within three points.  The Bears were able to convert on the other end, resetting the lead to five as the seconds dropped off the clock.

The first period saw a robust start with Preston Tuggle of Truett McConnell scoring initial points through a dynamic dunk. Despite early aggression from the Bears, the Eagles quickly responded with Tee Williams making two crucial layups to fetch a lead for Reinhardt. AJ Shaw also contributed significantly with free throws that helped the Eagles end the first period with a narrow lead of 28-26. This period was marked by sharp shooting from both teams, where Reinhardt managed to pull ahead slightly by maintaining a lead of up to 7 points around the 14-minute mark. Additionally, Derrick Brown was a menace on the boards and defensively, pulling down rebounds to keep the ball in the hands of the Eagles. He ended the game as the leading rebounder with 13 total.

The second period brought greater challenges for the Eagles. The Bears got the second half started by gaining an early lead, which eventually moved to 12 points midway through. Despite the lead for most of the second half, the Eagles made a comeback from key plays from Williams, Shaw, and Nekhi Fisher.  Unfortunately, Fisher was in foul trouble for some of the second half and had to sit for a period of time. The Eagles continued to put up a fight by scoring key baskets, pulling the game to within single digits in the final two minutes.

Williams led the team in scoring with 21 points, followed by Shaw with 11 points.  Fisher was able to score 8, which included a thundering dunk in the final minute of the game, despite having to sit a good portion of the second half.

Looking ahead, the Eagles are scheduled to face Milligan University on Monday, December 1, in Waleska. This is a make-up game from earlier in November that had to be cancelled because of a power outage in the area. Reinhardt will keep trying to turn the tide on what has been a slow start for the team.