Eagles Suffer Tough Overtime Los at St. Andrews

Laurinburg, NC - Reinhardt Men's Basketball had a hot January which put them back in the top tier of the AAC, however, February has not been as kind to the Eagles.  In January, the Eagles went 7-2 and they climbed as high #4 in the AAC standings - but with all the teams in the middle with similar records - one or two losses can drop you down in the standings.  As of now, the Eagles are sitting in the #7 spot after the close losses to CIU earlier in the week and then a tough overtime loss on the road at St. Andrews 98 to 96.  The Eagles still have control of how they will finish and they do not have to be perfect to finish out the last four games, however, winning those last four could move them up slightly in the final standings. They could even move back to the #4 spot if they win out and the teams in from of them falter some. Reinhardt has Bryan, Montreat, CIU, and Tennessee Wesleyan left on their schedule.

Reinhardt was playing catch-up most of the first half against St. Andrews, but they were never more than six down the first 10 minutes of the game.  They only shot 33-90 in the game for 36.7%, however, their three-point percentage was slightly better just under 46%.  They were able to tie the game at 25 all with about 8 minutes left in the game, however, the Knights would pull away in the final minutes of the first half to go up by nine over the Eagles at the break, 46-37.

In the second half, the Eagles spent the first 10 minutes trying to catch back up to St. Andrews and they were able to pull the score within 3 points at the halfway point, 68-65 Knights. The final ten minutes would fluctuate within single-digit leads for the Knights in the final ten minutes with the Eagles nipping at the lead the entire time, but the score would not be tied until Nate Jones hit a three-pointer in the final moments to tie the game at 91 all and send the game into overtime.

In overtiime, the Eagles had a small three-point lead on a three-pointer by Derrian Reed around three minutes in the overtime period, 94-91.  St. Andrews would score a basket and a couple of free throws to go up by one with just about a minute left.  In the last minute, the Eagles could only hit one more shot against the three put up by the Knights keeping them just two points shy of tying the game again and sending the game into a second overtime.

Nate Jones led the Eagles scoring 29 points in the overtime loss.  Jones has been the most consistent player the entire season and can always get a basket when the team needs it. Tyler Smith was not far behind scoring 21 points pulling down 7 rebounds. Also, in double-figure scoring was Nate Louis with 15 points and Derrian Reed who came off the bench to score 18 points.

Reinhardt continues to tear it up from the free throw line shooting 16-18 in this game for 89%.

Reinhardt has an important game on Wednesday at Bryan, which would put them in a good spot with a win. The weekend game will be the final home game for the 2023-24 season versus Montreat.  It will be Senior Night for the Eagles.