A Tale of Two Halves as Reinhardt falls to Union Commonwealth at Home

Waleska, GA - Reinhardt Men's Basketball could not overcome Union Commonwealth's efficient second-half surge, falling 74-57 on Wednesday night at the Brown Athletic Center. The Eagles did not have an answer for the Bulldogs' big man, Ali Sakho, who had a consistent game, scoring 19 points to lead Union.

The Eagles trailed just 30-28 at halftime after answering an early Union push with steady offense from Tee Williams and Derrick Brown. Williams knocked down two free throws with one second remaining in the first half to trim the deficit to two, giving Reinhardt momentum going into the locker room. Williams had an incredible first half, scoring 22 of his game-high 25 points. Earlier in the half, the Eagles had led by as many as six before a pair of 3-pointers from Union's Devin Dunn swung the edge back to the visitors.

Reinhardt briefly reclaimed the lead to open the second half when Jackson Sousa buried a 3-pointer to make it 31-30 in the first seconds. From there, however, Union began to separate behind a series of offensive bursts and pressure defense. After Kaleb Hedgepeth answered with a go-ahead dunk, Union used a 13-5 stretch highlighted by a Dallas Rufus 3-pointer to build a 41-36 cushion, then continued to apply pressure on both ends.

The turning point came midway through the second half as Union's defense began to generate live-ball turnovers. Union forced 20 turnovers overall and finished with 14 steals, repeatedly turning Reinhardt's mistakes into transition opportunities. Hedgepeth connected on a 3-pointer to push the margin to 64-45 with seven minutes remaining, and Rhodes' 3 from the wing made it 74-49 in the closing minutes, effectively sealing the contest despite a late push from the Eagles to trim the final deficit.

Williams led Reinhardt with an efficient 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. He also added four steals in 28 minutes, providing a spark on both ends. However, a technical foul midway through the second half put Williams on the bench for the remainder of the game as Union began to run away with the game. Brown gave the Eagles a second double-figure scorer with 12 points and four rebounds in 32 minutes, helping Reinhardt stay within striking distance through much of the first half and early in the second.  Sousa ended the game with 8 points and 4 rebounds.

The Eagles will have to put this midweek AAC loss behind them and get ready for Montreat this Saturday.  The Cavaliers will be coming to Waleksa for a 4 pm tipoff as the Eagles look to get back into the win column. The Eagles are currently in tenth position in the AAC, but can easily move up to the upper third of the league with a couple of wins in a row.