Bulldogs Overcome Halftime Hole to Take Down Reinhardt

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

WALESKA, Ga. – After being held to 18 points in the opening half, Tennessee Wesleyan responded with 44 tallies in the final period and slowed the Reinhardt offense en route to a 62-56 victory over the host Eagles on Wednesday night.

With the loss, Reinhardt falls to 2-5 overall and 1-3 inside the Appalachian Athletic Conference after dropping its third-consecutive outing.

The Eagles shot 20-for-54 (37 percent) and hit seven shots from deep, but 26 turnovers continuously put them in bad positions, and even helped the Bulldogs get back into the contest and find a rhythm.

Individually, Blake MacIntyre nailed five treys and paced the offense with 15 points and six rebounds. Joining him in double figures was Marcus Kirkland with 11 points and a half-dozen boards as well.

Reinhardt started the game with efficiency and good execution of the game plan against Tennessee Wesleyan, as the players were flying all over the court on defense and making open shots on the other end. With that kind of effort, the Eagles pushed their first-half advantage to 15 points at 30-15 with just over 90 seconds remaining before the break.

The Bulldogs, however, called timeout and regrouped; they shut down their hosts the rest of the way and rode momentum into halftime after connecting on a 3-pointer in the final seconds to cut their deficit to 12.

The Eagles would remain strongly in front for nearly the first ten minutes of the second half – double-digits as well – before Tennessee Wesleyan began to chip away at the deficit. In the blink of an eye, the Bulldogs got within three tallies (45-42) with just over eight minutes left in the game.

The slim lead for the hometown team would remain in-tact until the 4:41 mark where it became a whole new ballgame.

A three-point play catapulted Tennessee Wesleyan into the lead, but it would be given right back to the hosts shortly thereafter. After making the tying free throw, the Bulldogs would jump in front for good with just over a minute left and finish the game on a 7-0 scoring spree over the last 2:39.

The squad looks to get back to its winning ways on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. against Kentucky Christian.

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