Eagles Fall Short in Season Opener

Waleska, GA - On Saturday evening of a busy Homecoming Day at Reinhardt University, Eagles Basketball was closing out the day's festivities with a game with Coastal Georgia. This was the season opener for the Eagles and Coach Newton's guys were ready to get things rolling after months of preparation.  The Eagles would fall just short on this one losing 88-85 versus the Mariners. 

The game would start out slow with each team struggling to get a shot to go in. It would not be until about three minutes into the game when the first shot went in for Coastal Georgia. The Eagles would not score until inside the sixteen-minute mark with Jalin Wimberly's layup got them on the board. Coastal Georgia would extend their lead to 17 to 5 with thirteen minutes left in the first half. This was the point where Reinhardt started to inch their way back into the game. The Eagles were finally able to catch the Mariners on a three-pointer from Tyler Smith at the six-minute mark with the score tied at 24 all. From this point on, the game would be tight and the teams would trade leads and the scoring would start to speed up. The game would go into halftime with the Mariners leading 39-38 after holding a 12-point lead at one point.

The Eagles are loaded with long, athletic players that can play all facets of the game so keeping the off the scoreboard is going to be very difficult for teams this season. The second half would show this as Tafari Thomas, Smith, and Wimberly would get things cranking. Wimberly would end up with 18 points in the game and Smith would lead the way at 19 points. Thomas was a beast on the boards pulling down 11 rebounds (5 offensive) and putting in 10 points. 

The second half seemed to stay fairly equal all the way through with the Eagles getting the highest point lead at six about midway through the second half, but no lead was safe in this game. Both teams were lighting up the scoreboard with scoring coming from multiple players. Coast Georgia's guard play was excellent even though Greg Hobbs was playing lockdown defense the entire game. The Eagles received much-needed bench scoring from Nate Louis, Jamison Syphore, and Tucker Lowe. Louis and Syphore were regular rotation players from the 2021-22 team, but Lowe will be a new contributor to the team after redshirting last year. Louis ended up with 10 points, Syphore put in 13, and Lowe had 11 with nine of his points coming from three three-pointers. 

The final ten minutes of the game would be extremely tight with both teams staying within a point or two of each other. The game was set up for a nailbiter finish and the Eagles refused to give up their first game of the season. The final minute of the game had the Mariners up by two at 77-75 and from that point on the electricity in the building was kicked up a notch. Coastal Georgia was able to get a five-point lead with about thirty seconds left and it was not looking good for the Eagles. Syphore hits two big free throws getting the Eagles within three with only fourteen seconds left. After a made shot by the Mariners, Syphore comes up big again hitting a three-pointer with only nine seconds left bringing the score to 84-82 Mariners. Coastal hit a couple of free throws after a quick foul by the Eagles and with only about 3 seconds left in the game, Lowe stroked a long three-pointer on the sidelines which brought the Eagles within one, 86-85. The Eagles quickly fouled again to give them one last chance at coming back. Coastal hit their free throws once more, but there was one second left to get one final shot to tie the game. The final full-court pass would end up being tipped by the Mariners just out of reach of the waiting Antonio Spencer and time would roll off the clock.

Although not the outcome that Eagles fans wanted, it was not a bad effort and showed us glimpses of what is to come with this team this season. The slow start hurt a little and some of the shooting percentages will have to improve, but this team showed they can play and as the season goes along - the team will gel together and settle into a groove. The team already has start players with Smith, Louis, Hobbs, Wimberly, and Thomas - and others like Syphore, Lowe, Spencer, and others will add to the firepower that this team has. In the end, it is a loss for the Eagles but it is just the start of what is going to be an exciting season for the Eagle hoopers. 

The Eagles will be on the road next with a game at Cumberland (TN) on Tuesday evening. Check back with www.reinhardteagles.com for more game information for men's basketball and all other sports.