Williams' Second Half Explosion Not Enough Against Visiting Pioneers

Waleska, GA - As the regular season cruises into the final stretch, Reinhardt is desperately trying to pick up wins with their postseason hopes on the line. The past few games, the Eagles have been right on the edge of winning each of them, but have come up short, leaving them in the tenth and final spot for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament coming up in the next few weeks.  Wednesday night in Waleska saw the Eagles in that familiar position with the game in hand, but ultimately coming up short, losing to the visiting Pioneers of Spartanburg Methodist 86-79.

The Eagles traded blows with Spartanburg Methodist through a tightly contested first half and briefly grabbed the lead early in the second, but the visitors answered with balanced scoring and timely perimeter shooting to retake control. Spartanburg Methodist shot 53.7 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from 3-point range, using that efficiency to outscore Reinhardt 48-43 after the break and pull away late. Star forward Tee Williams had another carrer best type of night, scoring 27 for the Eagles, but it was not enough to pull the Eagles through.

Reinhardt trailed 26-14 midway through the first quarter before settling in defensively and chipping away at the deficit. Williams powered the response with aggressive drives and activity on the glass, and the Eagles' pressure began to disrupt Spartanburg Methodist's rhythm. The key first-half swing came at the horn, when Nekhi Fisher buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap a late surge and trim the margin to 38-36 heading into halftime.

The momentum carried into the third-quarter stretch as A.J. Shaw drilled a 3-pointer just 34 seconds into the second half to give Reinhardt its first lead since the opening minutes at 39-38. From there, the teams traded scores, but Spartanburg Methodist's depth began to show. Kennedy Aiken-Shannon, who finished with 19 points and five made 3-pointers, continued to stretch the defense, while interior touches and second-chance opportunities helped the visitors steadily rebuild a multi-possession advantage. Aiekn-Shannon's three-point shooting in the final minutes of the game proved to be the difference and allowed the Pioneers to pull away in the end.

Reinhardt stayed within striking distance behind Williams and Shaw, with the Eagles repeatedly answering scores to keep the deficit manageable. Williams finished with a game-high 27 points on 11-for-21 shooting to go with seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals in 38 minutes, anchoring Reinhardt on both ends. Shaw added 15 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line, along with three rebounds and two assists, giving the backcourt a needed scoring punch.

Fisher had a solid game coming off the bench, giving a lift to the Eagles throughout the game. He finished with 12 points.

Late in the fourth-quarter sequence, though, Spartanburg Methodist produced the decisive run. A late layup from C.J. Terrell pushed the margin to 81-74 with just over a minute remaining, and after Reinhardt was forced to extend the game, the visitors closed it at the line. Caleb Jenkins sank two free throws with 20 seconds left to make it 85-76, and Calvin Brown's free throw in the final seconds helped seal the seven-point margin.

As a team, Reinhardt shot a solid 46.9 percent from the field and matched Spartanburg Methodist with eight 3-pointers, but the Eagles were outshot from the floor overall and attempted 18 fewer free throws. Reinhardt finished 11-for-14 at the line compared to Spartanburg Methodist's 20-for-32. The Eagles also were narrowly edged on the boards, 37-33, despite a strong effort on the glass. The performance from Williams, Shaw, and Fisher provided a clear bright spot, and Reinhardt's ability to erase an early double-digit deficit and take the lead out of halftime offers a competitive foundation as the Eagles turn their attention to the next contest.

The Eagles will face Bryan College this Saturday at the Brown Athletic Center, where they will have another chance to pick up an AAC win in the final stretch.  In total, Reinhardt has six more games left in the season with five of those being AAC games. Despite the narrow loss to Spartanburg Methodist, the Eagles still have a chance to move up the standings with the tournament looming on the other side.  The Eagles are currently in tenth place in the AAC standings.  The standings can be found at https://www.aacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2025-26/standings