Tennessee Wesleyan Comes Back to Bite Men's Basketball in Overtime

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

Photo Courtesy of Greg Spell/G-RoxPhotos.com

ATHENS, Tenn. – A wild Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) battle ended in heartbreak for Reinhardt men's basketball on the road on Tuesday night, as the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan slipped past the Eagles in the final minute of overtime, 102-101.

The hometown team – who was guided by 23 points apiece from Kristian Collins and DJ Lampkin – dropped its first road outing in the conference (1-1 AAC) and is now 4-2 overall on the year.

Reinhardt nearly had three players hit the 20-plus point plateau as Josh Press added 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

"Road conference wins are hard to get, and this was as tough a loss as I've been a part of," head coach Justin Newton said. "We did a good job defensively in the first half and the first six minutes of the second, but fell apart – TWU had more heart on the offensive glass than we did – and again, scoring wasn't a problem.

"We aren't defending very well right now. We will adjust and move on to the next; it's just the right thing to do."

The game started out as a low-scoring affair with the Eagles leading by a pair, 39-37, but the contest watched as both squads exploded for more than 50 points each in the final 20 minutes to push the AAC tilt to overtime at 90 after Moses Jones (11 points) connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

It all could have been avoided, however, as Reinhardt held an 11-point advantage on the road in the AAC with 12:13 remaining following another connection from deep (and then an 11-point lead again at 9:46).

From there, Tennessee Wesleyan got the hot hand and got back within three tallies in two minutes thanks to an 8-0 run. The Bulldogs and Eagles would go toe-to-toe the rest of the half after the hosts fought back to tie the game and eventually retake the lead late on free throws with just seconds left.

The aforementioned Jones triple helped the visitors keep momentum into the extra frame as both clubs went back-and-forth throughout. The pendulum would swing back to Tennessee Wesleyan after an and-one gave the Bulldogs a two-point cushion with 50 seconds left on the clock.

After a pair of missed freebies from Tennessee Wesleyan, Collins grabbed the board with six seconds left and the ball eventually got to Jalin Wimberly, whose 3-point attempt wasn't to be.

Wimberly was also in double figures with 16 points and four rebounds.

Reinhardt was outrebounded, 50-29, as both Collins and Lampkin were out-front on the glass with eight and six, respectively.

The Eagles shot 37-of-82 (45.1 percent) on the night and connected on 18-for-25 from the line in defeat.

The team gets right back on the floor tomorrow night at National Christian College Athletic Association member Toccoa Falls (Ga.) at 5 p.m. 

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For more information on Reinhardt Men's Basketball, please click here.