Eagles Pour it on Tennessee Wesleyan

Waleska, GA - Reinhardt Eagles Men's Basketball put everything together in Saturday afternoon's game against Tennessee Wesleyan. Tennessee Wesleyan is currently in second place in the AAC bringing a solid 9-2 conference record into the game, but it would be the Eagles that would take this victory walking away with a twenty-three-point margin at 86-63.

The Eagles were coming off three very close losses going back to December 13th against Bluefield. They lost a nail-biter game on Thursday this past week to NAIA #12 ranked Union 89 to 87 with a shot to win the game at the buzzer. Tonight's matchup with Tennessee Wesleyan was a much-needed win for the Eagles and their play over the last few games shows that they are ready to move forward in the last half of the season.

Reinhardt had four players in double-digit scoring with Brandon Barron scoring the game-high 17 points coming off the bench and added a spark to the game. Barron ended up with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jalin Wimberly kept his hot hand going scoring 16 points and pulling down 3 rebounds. Nate Louis and Tafari Thomas both had 14 points each to help the Eagles.

The first half of the game stayed very tight with the Eagles getting a slim six-point lead with about twelve minutes left on a pair of Brandon Barron free throws, 21-15. The Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan. would scratch their way back into the game getting the score to within four points of the Eagles.  Reinhardt would open up another slim margin with just ten minutes left at 30-21. The first half would end on a pair of made free throws from Tyler Smith, which extended the lead to 42 to 30.

In the second half, the Eagles would pick up where they left off in the first half gaining fourteen points. The remainder of the second half would see the Eagles turn up the heat on the defensive end creating havoc on the Bulldog guards. Greg Hobbs and Smith were playing on top of the press and made it difficult for Tennessee Wesleyan to get the ball across half-court. Barron did his thing driving to the basket and picking up much-needed layups for the Eagles to keep the lead at twenty to go into the final minutes.

The Eagles never looked back the rest of the way and Coach Newton was able to clear his bench in the final four minutes of the game. A fade-away high-arching jumper by Malachi Gayle and Tucker Lowe's three-pointer in the final minute put the cap on the important AAC win for the Eagles. Reinhardt still sits at the seventh spot in the AAC Standings, but a couple of wins over the upcoming week can move the Eagles up to the fourth position.

The Eagles will be on the road this week with a game at Milligan on Wednesday and then another road game at Kentucky Christian on Saturday.  Follow all games on www.reinhardteagles.com .