Eagles Secure Their Spot in the AAC Tournament

Athens, TN - Reinhardt Basketball has had a tough February only winning one game and coming up just short in several games, however, their January was excellent winning seven of nine games and knocking off Pikeville who is one of the top teams in the AAC.  January was the key to the Eagles making it into the final spots of the tournament standings where they finished in seventh position after today's loss at Tennessee Wesleyan.  The Eagles lost another close on 90 to 87 in the final regular season of 2024, but the postseason starts now and everyone starts over with a 0-0 record.

Reinhardt had four players in double-figure scoring with Brasen James leading the way with 26 points. James was 7 of 10 from the field and 2 out of 3 from three-point land. Nate Jones followed with 17 points along with Derrian Reed who added a spark off the bench with his 17. Nate Louis was the other player with double-figures scoring 13.  James and Jones both led the Eagles with 8 rebounds each.

The first half was close all the way through with the Bulldogs gaining a slight 6-point advantage at one point, however, the Eagles never let the game get away from them and they were able to tie the game at 42 all at the halftime break.

In the second half, Tennessee Wesleyan was able to get a nine-point lead with about fourteen minutes left in the game. The lead would grow to fourteen points with about seven minutes left in the game, but the Eagles stormed back getting the game tied at 78 all with just three minutes left. The game stayed within this three-point margin the rest of the way in the game with the Eagles getting as close as one point.  The Bulldogs were able to hit a few free throws in the last seconds to secure the win and create a three-way tie in the last three spots in the AAC standings.  Reinhardt, Tennessee Wesleyan, and Montreat all. finished with 11-13 AAC records, but Reinhardt got the seventh spot from head-to-head matchups and how each did against the top-tier teams.

The 2024 AAC Tournament will start on Wednesday for the Eagles.  They will face a 10th-seed team, Truett McConnell on Wednesday with the winner moving on to face Pikeville on Thursday morning. Pikeville ended up with the second seed just behind #1 Union. The games will take place in Kingsport, TN, which is the traditional meeting spot for many AAC teams.

For complete information on the 2024 AAC Men's Basketball Tournament, please see the below link:

https://www.aacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/releases/20240224t6y5p2