Eagles Open Up Season on the Road at Campbellsville; the Richard Morgan Era Begins

Campbellsville, Ky. - Reinhardt Men's Basketball began its 2025-26 season on Monday evening under new Head Coach Richard Morgan. The team suffered a defeat against non-conference opponent, the Campbellsville Tigers, ending with a final score of 72-61, at the Powell Athletic Center.

The game started competitively, with Campbellsville seizing the initial momentum as Jay Milburn sank a 3-pointer assisted by Eli Brooks. Throughout the first period, Campbellsville maintained a steady scoring pace, culminating in a buzzer-beater 3-pointer by Taveon Smith, bringing the first half to a close at 37-34 in favor of Campbellsville. Milburn and Brooks were the leading scorers for the Tigers, both with 16 points each.

Although they were not able to catch the Tigers in the first half, scoring from sophomore point guard Jackson Sousa and returning forward, Tee Williams, the Eagles kept in close, pulling to just the three-point deficit at the halftime break. Sousa ended the first half with 7 points on three field goals and one free throw.  Williams had 8 at the break. 

Newcomer Dillon Fulwood led the Eagles at the break with 11 points, with most of his scoring occurring in the final ten minutes of the first half.

In the second half, Campbellsville was able to extend its lead with several key fast breaks and successful free throws. The Tigers were able to widen the gap to 17 points at one point. Despite defensive efforts from Reinhardt, including several blocked attempts, Campbellsville continued to control the game. 

Fulwood added five points in the second half, bringing his total to 16 points in the game. This was a team high for the Eagles. He was followed by Williams with 15 points, and Sousa contributed 13 points. Forward Derrck Brown was just on the outside of double-figure scoring with 9 points.

Defensively, AJ Shaw led the Eagles with 8 rebounds and 7 assists, showcasing a versatile game. Williams recorded 3 blocks to lead the Eagles, and the team had 7 blocks total.  Reinhardt outrebounded the Tigers 42 to 40, and the shooting percentages for both teams were almost identical. The Eagles shone at the free-throw line, going 9 for 11 at 81%; however, Campbellsville was able to go to the line for 22 shots. They were only able to hit 14 of their 22 shots.

As the Eagles look ahead to their next game with Lindsey Wilson on Tuesday evening, they will need to improve their field goal percentage.  Especially, the three-point shooting, where the Eagles were 25% hitting only 6 of their 24 attempts.

With so many new faces on the team to go with the returning veterans, it usually takes several games for the team to figure each other out. This team is very athletic and quick, so as the season progresses, Eagles fans can look for the team to start playing better together and start adding games to the win column.  Tuesday night's game will start at 7 pm and can be seen on the Lindsey Wilson Athletics Network https://lindseyathletics.com/watch/?Live=53&type=Live