Reinhardt Marches on Against Pesky Kentucky Christian, 73-70

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Men's basketball was able to hold off an upset-minded Kentucky Christian squad in the quarterfinal round of the AAC Championship on Thursday, as the Eagles trailed the majority of the contest, but found a way to win in the end over the Knights, 73-70.

Reinhardt (19-7) was paced offensively by Jalin Wimberly and his 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He was joined in double figures by Moses Jones (15) and Greg Hobbs (14) – who made crucial shots down the stretch driving to the basket to help spark the comeback.

"Survive and advance," head coach Justin Newton said. "Winning games in the postseason is hard… Seedlings don't matter. It's win, or go home, and everyone is desperate. I'm so proud of our guys battling through and they just kept believing.

"The games will keep getting tougher and our guys are excited to keep playing."

The hometown team was able to keep tabs on the Kentucky Christian offense for the first portion of the opening half – leading, 10-3, at the 14-minute mark – but the Knights would flip the momentum in the next four minutes to take the advantage by two at 17-15 with just under 10 minutes before halftime.

Kentucky Christian would open a five-point cushion (31-26), but it would evaporate in a couple minutes of play as the Eagles tied the score once again. The Knights would get one more basket the final two minutes to head to the break ahead, 33-31.

The game would be nip-and-tuck for the entirety of the last 20 minutes, so much so, that the contest had the whole league on the edge of its seat since not one underdog had yet to pull off an upset in the Championship.

The No. 8 seed in the bracket would hit a trey with 4:59 left in regulation for a 63-60 lead, but the top team in the tournament wouldn't back down. Hobbs would then take over and get to the basket on multiple occasions to put more pressure on Kentucky Christian to continue to make plays to win.

Hobbs would eventually break through and push the Eagles on top for good with another make at the rim with just under 80 seconds left, and a game-winning attempt from deep wasn't meant to be for the Knights.

Tafari Thomas got a put-back off a miss in the final seconds to secure the victory after another 3-pointer, this time for the tie, went begging for Kentucky Christian.

Thomas ended with seven points and five rebounds.

Reinhardt shot 24-for-59 (40.7 percent) and hit eight treys. The Eagles were very solid at the line as well, connecting on 17-of-21.

The club will now take on Tennessee Wesleyan tomorrow at 3 p.m. for a chance to get to the AAC Championship final. 

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