Late Rally by the Eagles Falls Short on the Road at CIU

Columbia, SC - Reinhardt University mounted a determined second-half rally but came up short in a 79-72 loss to Columbia International University (CIU) on Tuesday night at Moore Fitness Center. This was an important conference game for the Eagles, as most of the teams are jockeying for position to make the postseason tournament.  The Eagles were coming off an impressive win at home this past Saturday against Bryan College so there was much anticipation for this contest with the Rams.

The Eagles trailed 38-30 at halftime and saw CIU stretch the margin to double digits early in the second half, but Reinhardt responded behind steady inside play from Derrick Brown and shot-making from Tee Williams. A 3-pointer by Jackson Sousa with 10:47 remaining pulled Reinhardt within 56-51, capping a run that briefly shifted momentum and forced CIU to answer under pressure.  The Eagles were able to pull the game within three points in the final six minutes of the second half before the Rams were able to pull away to a double-digit lead in the final two minutes.

CIU's balance ultimately proved decisive. The hosts shot 55.2% from the field and assisted on 26 of their 32 made baskets, repeatedly converting in the half-court to hold Reinhardt at arm's length. Will Kelly led CIU with 15 points and five assists, while Jeffery Clark II added 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Point forward Johnny Whysong nearly posted a triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, helping CIU calm Reinhardt's runs and control the tempo in the closing minutes.

Reinhardt's best stretch came out of the locker room after Brown buried a buzzer-beating jumper to end the first half and trim the deficit to eight. Though CIU opened the second half with a Connor Higgins layup for a 40-30 lead, the Eagles tightened defensively, forced turnovers and began winning battles on the glass. A jumper by Arael Jones cut the margin to 44-36, and Reinhardt continued to chip away, getting stops and pushing in transition to stay within striking distance.

Williams powered the Reinhardt offense with a game-high 21 points, adding four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 31 minutes. Brown turned in a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while playing 34 minutes, anchoring the interior at both ends. Sousa's timely 3-pointer highlighted a bench contribution that helped Reinhardt narrow a deficit that had threatened to grow out of reach early in the second half.

As a team, Reinhardt shot 44.1% from the field but struggled from beyond the arc, going 3-for-19 (15.8%) from 3-point range and 9-for-17 (52.9%) at the free-throw line. Three-point shooting has been the achilles heal for the Eagles all season. The Eagles finished with 30 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end, and recorded seven steals, but 17 turnovers limited their ability to fully overcome CIU's hot shooting and ball movement.

Nekhi Fisher's late 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining brought Reinhardt within 79-72, but CIU successfully inbounded the ball and ran out the clock. Reinharrdt still sits in the final playoff spot in tenth position, but Milligan is right on their tails with only three remaining AAC games.  However, the Eagles are still in a position to jump a spot or two up the standings if they can have a successful final three conference games.

Reinhardt will face the AAC leader, Pikeville, this Saturday at home, and then they will travel the following week to both Milligan University and Bluefield University to end the regular season.  Currently, both Milligan and Bluefield are behind the Eagles in the standings, so they will need to make the most of those games in hopes of at least holding the tenth spot or possibly moving up a few spots.  The AAC standings can be found here and are updated on conference game days:

AAC Standings - Men's Basketball