Eagles Hold Off Yellow Jackets in AAC Triumph

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

WALESKA, Ga. – The Eagles came back to the Brown Athletic Center and claimed its second-consecutive Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) triumph after holding off the Yellow Jackets of Allen (S.C.), 70-65, Wednesday night in front of the home fans.

Reinhardt is back in the winning column after snapping its three-game losing streak to improve to 4-8 overall and 3-4 inside the AAC in the process.

"Total team win as we really guarded and rebounded as a unit, and withstood a great run by Allen," head coach Justin Newton said. "We played a lot of guys and they all stepped up when called upon and that's what we need for the future. Our team is going in the right direction and I have no doubt they will come to work as we prepare for a big road trip before Christmas break.

"The crowd gave us a lot of energy and we were really thankful for that."

Josh Daniels netted 20 points and Chris Rogers came through in the clutch off the bench with 19 points and eight rebounds of his own on 7-for-12 from the floor in just 15 minutes. Additionally, Blake McIntyre hit five treys and earned 16 tallies, while Dwayne Wilson also hit double digits with 10 points and six boards.

The Yellow Jackets started slow out of the gate and the Eagles took advantage to the tune of a 14-6 lead about eight minutes into the contest. The offenses would continue to struggle a bit, but would awaken over the last portion of the opening period. Allen would get back within one, 18-17, before each team would begin to hit its stride on the offensive side of the ball.

Back and forth the offenses went until Reinhardt began to clamp down a little more on defense to help the team get some stops and head to the locker room ahead by eight at 36-28 after 20 minutes of play.

Allen, who has historically been a powerful offense, began to hit more shots and find a better rhythm in the second half. The visitors would do so, however, after quickly falling behind by nine points before storming back within one at 41-40 with more thank 16 minutes left on the clock. Mid-way through the half, though, the scoreboard would be all knotted up again, this time 54-54.

The comeback would be complete after the Yellow Jackets took the lead by a trey with four minutes left on the clock, but Daniels nailed a 3-pointer to grab the momentum back. He would also hit a single free throw late in the game before Wilson nailed another trey off of an offensive rebound with 37 seconds left to push his team's lead to four at 67-63.

The Eagles would keep the game out of reach with free throws down the stretch.

Reinhardt hit 24-of-56 shots from the field (42.9 percent) and hit eight shots from beyond the arc.

The club now looks to put back-to-back wins together in 10 days when it travels to No. 21 Union (Ky.) on Saturday, Dec. 14. 

Tip is set for 6 p.m.

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