Eagles Battle the Grizzlies to the Final Seconds; Still Searching for the First Win

Waleska, GA - The tough start to the 2025-26 season continues for Reinhardt Men's Basketball after a Wednesday night matchup with Georgia Gwinnett College.  The Grizzlies brought their brand of high-flying hoops to Waleska and walked away with a narrow 78-74 win.  The loss brings the season total to seven and has the Eagles searching for a win this season. However, the season is still very young, and there is plenty of basketball left to keep improving and picking up wins.

The first half started great for the Eagles as they jumped out to an early lead.  The Grizzlies went through a cold spell early, which allowed Reinhardt to get an early eight-point lead. The Eagles came out hot behind the shooting of Tee Williams and Derrick Brown.  The two forwards got the team going early in the game and brought Eagles' fans ot their feet. Williams led all scoring for the Eagles in the game with 19 points.  Brown ended the game with 13 points, along with point guard Arael Jones, who put up 13 points. Williams, Brown, and Dillon Fillwood tied each other with seven rebounds each.

After losing their early lead in the final few minutes of the first half, the Eagles kept the score close, only down by one as the final seconds dropped off the clock.  The game was almost even as each team headed for the locker rooms.

In the second half, the Grizzlies pulled away and kept a lead of around ten to twelve points through the first ten minutes. Gwinnett was led in scoring by Devontre Williams, who totaled 18 points in the game, and former Eagle standout shooting guard, Brasen James. James played two seasons with Reinhardt before hitting the transfer portal during the summer. He ended up at Georgia Gwinnett and led all scorers with 20 points.

Despite having the wide point spread most of the second half, the Eagles were able to mount a comeback in the final minutes of the second half.  Reinhardt was able to get a lift from Areal Jones, who had several tough drive and scores in the final minutes.  Also, Khalil Cooke came off the bench for the Eagles and shot 3 for 5 from three-pointers, scoring 9 points in just ten minutes of play. Cooke was by far the best shooter of the game for the Eagles.

The last group on the floor for the Eagles was able to pull the game to within two points in the final forty seconds of the game.  Gwinnett called a crucial timeout with less than thirty seconds on the clock and scored the two points needed to put them up by four.  With just about six seconds left on the clock, the Eagles only had a chance for a desperation three-pointer that would have brought the team to within one if it went in. Unfortunately, it did not and the last seconds clicked to zero, giving Gwinnett the early-season win in Waleska.

Reinhardt is playing competitive basketball now after having a few games that got out of hand in scoring.  The last two games were both single-digit wins for the opponents so just a few adjustments and mixing up some personnel could make the difference of putting a mark in the win column.  The one stat that stands out in this game is that the three-point percentage was only at thirty percent.  Cooke was 3 for 5, and then a few players were 1 for 2, but other than that, the three-point percentage left room for plenty of improvement.

The Eagles will hit the road this weekend for a matchup with AAC newcomer Spartanburg Methodist in South Carolina.  The women's game is scheduled for a 2 pm tipoff, and the men will start immediately after, around 4 pm. Next week. Reinhardt will welcome the Bears of Truett McConnell to Waleska for a Tuesday night doubleheader before the Thanksgiving break.