Eagles Get the Job Done at Home Against Johnson

Waleska, GA - The season is at the point where every game is important if you want to be part of the mix at the 2024 AAC Men's Basketball Tournament and the Eagles are making sure that they stay in the running for a spot.  They picked up the win over Truett McConnell on Wednesday evening and today they were able to hold onto a win versus Johnson University (TN), 79-72.

Mr Consistancy, Nate Jones, scored 24 points on 7-13 shooting from the field.  He was 5 for 9 from beyond the three-point line.  He also had 8 total rebounds and 2 assists to lead the Eagles.

He was helped by double-figure scoring from Brasen James (16 points), Nate Louis (15 points), and Derrian Reed (10 Points).  Louis had a big second half keeping the Eagles at pace with the Royals scoring hard inside points in crunch time.  Johnson's coaching staff put a shadow defender on Jones in the final 10 minutes of the game to try to keep his scoring down and this opened up opportunities for Louis and James to take over and they did just that.

The point guard combination of Fred Adams, Tucker Lowe, and Tayden Owens helped keep turnovers down and controlled the game for the Eagles.  Adams led the team with 7 assists and Lowe had 2 assists to go along with his 5 points.

The contest was tight and competitive from start to finish.  Things got heated somewhat in the first half and two Royals were ejected from the game for coming onto the court after an altercation had occurred.  From this point on in the game, the competitiveness of both teams stepped it up a notch as you would expect from a conference rivalry.  The Eagles would only enjoy a small two-point lead at the halftime break, 36-34.

In the second half, Johnson would regain the lead around the eighteen-minute mark, but the lead for the Royals would stay around one to three points only during the first ten minutes of the second half. Reinhardt gained the lead again in the final ten minutes and pushed out to a small five-point lead with just six minutes left in the game. The Eagles never gave up their narrow lead in the second half and were able to push the lead to seven points in the final minutes by hitting their free throws.

It was a big win for the Eagles and keeps them in the hunt for a tournament spot.  The AAC standings are very tight with third through eighth place only separated by a game or two. Stringing together AAC wins should get the Eagles moving in the right direction as this season progresses.

They will have a busy week and another chance to move up the standings with games on Tuesday versus Pikeville (AAC leader) and Kentucky Christian on Thursday.