Eagles Keep Postseason Chances Alive with Home Win Against Montreat

Waleska, GA - As the season comes to an end, every game Reinhardt plays will affect the chances of their postseason play.  Saturday's game with Montreat was extra special as it was the final home game of the season and the Eagles were honoring several seniors before the game. The game had a lot on the line as both Reinhardt and Montreat are hanging on to the final two spots in the AAC standings and there is no room for error for the two.  Reinhardt was able to walk away with a tight 79-71 win which moved them currently into the 7th position with just two games remaining.  The Eagles have CIU and Tennessee Wesleyan (both road games) to finish up the regular season play.

The game was a close one from start to finish and the Eagles dug themselves a small home that they had to work out of in the first ten minutes of the first half.  Scoring on both teams was a little down in the first half as the score was only 22-18 Montreat with just five minutes left before the halftime break. The game would go into the half tied at 30-30 all.

Overall, the Eagles' shooting was somewhat low at 39% from the field and 37% from the three-point load, however, their defense was keeping the Cavaliers in check and their three-point shooting percentage at just 25%.  Montreat had 21 turnovers in the game which was created by the Eagles' defensive pressure.

Derrian Reed started in this game which was not his usual spot. He is typically the spark that comes off the bench for Reinhardt, but his scoring has been needed as of late and he has been moved into the starting spot the past couple of games. He led the Eagles against Montreat scoring 21 points followed closely by power forward Tyler Smith who scored 17 points in his final home game at the Brown Athletic Center.

Nate Louis, who had a very active game diving in the stands after loose balls and moving down the floor to block and contest shots, put in 13 for the Eagles.  Brasen James added 11 points coming off the bench. James had an electrifying dunk in the second half that added some momentum for the Eagles.

In the second half, the Eagles were able to take the lead and keep it the rest of the way through, however, it was just a narrow lead until the Eagles were able to get up by 10 points with just four minutes left in the game.  Reinhardt did not let this lead go despite the efforts to chip away by the Cavaliers.

The Eagles will have the two road games on Wednesday evening (CIU) and Saturday (TN Wesleyan) which they need to win both to keep their current spot.  Depending on the other games, they could move up the standings - but with a loss or two could have them watching other games to see how everything plays out.