Eagles Protect Home Court Against Bulldogs Tuesday Night

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

WALESKA, Ga. – Reinhardt was able to come from behind and avenge its overtime loss to Tennessee Wesleyan on Dec. 1 with a thrilling 67-65 positive outcome over the Bulldogs Tuesday night inside the Brown Athletic Center.

The Eagles (11-5, 6-4 Appalachian Athletic Conference) improved to 6-1 overall on their home floor and snapped a two-game losing streak in the process.

"So proud of our team," head coach Justin Newton said. "They had a total attitude of belief that we were going to get the job done. We needed absolutely everyone tonight, and I thought our defensive pressure and our depth won us the game. TWU is one of the best rebounding teams in the country and we were able to go toe-to-toe with them on that.

"We shot the ball poorly but kept digging in to get stops, and some guys made some pretty special plays down the stretch. Go Eagles!"

This contest was the polar opposite of the one between the two clubs back in early December – a 102-101 final – as it featured poor shooting, resulting in a low-scoring slugfest.

Three hometown squad players hit double-figure scoring, led by Kristian Collins' 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. Tafari Thomas added 13 tallies and seven rebounds off the bench, while DJ Lampkin had 10.

Reinhardt overcame a small deficit early and responded with a 12-0 run to go up by seven (15-8) halfway through the opening half. The Eagles would hold the advantage for nearly the entire half until the Bulldogs headed to the locker room ahead by one, 31-30, following a closing 5-0 run.

The momentum would continue for Tennessee Wesleyan into the second period as it forced the hometown team to call timeout after falling behind by seven – and then later a game-high 10 points (45-35) – with 12:41 remaining in the game.

Changing up the lineups and finding the right combination off the bench was the turning point for Reinhardt as it finally started to pick up steam on the offensive end. The Eagles kept getting within a bucket of the Bulldogs, but to their credit, kept making clutch shots to try to and keep their hosts at bay.

Reinhardt finally broke through in the final minute after Jameson Syphore stole the ball and hit a shot to give his squad a 62-61 lead with 46 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs then narrowly missed their attempt at regaining the lead, thus sending the Eagles to the line for a three-point advantage.

It wasn't over yet, however, as the visitors got a basket and a missed free throw for another chance to tie the game late – and they did with eight seconds remaining on the clock.

Jalin Wimberly then got fouled heading to the basket with three ticks left. He tried to ice the contest, but missed the second free throw, and luckily, however, the ball bounced off a Tennessee Wesleyan defender and went out of bounds.

Marcus Kirkland then made one more freebie to put the game away with one second remaining.

Collectively, Reinhardt was cold from the outside (4-for-22) and hit 19-for-31 from the charity stripe. The total team effort created 25 turnovers – including 12 steals – which helped make up for 34.9 percent shooting (22-of-63) in the win.

It's back to the court on Thursday night against Truett McConnell at home.

Tip is slated for 7 p.m. 

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

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