Eagles Fall to Bluefield on Last Second Buzzer-Beater

Bluefield, VA - A last-second putback ended a furious Reinhardt comeback Saturday, as the Eagles fell 89-87 to Bluefield at The Dome despite erasing a double-digit halftime deficit and tying the game in the final 20 seconds.

After trailing 44-31 at the break, Reinhardt outscored Bluefield 56-45 in the second half and pulled even when Arael Jones drove for a layup, drew contact and converted the free throw to make it 87-87 with 20 seconds to play. On the final possession, Bluefield's Isaiah Sanders corralled an offensive rebound and scored on a layup with one second remaining, providing the decisive basket in the final regular-season game for both teams.

Tee Williams powered the Reinhardt offense with a game-high 27 points to go with six rebounds, three assists and a steal in 37 minutes. He opened the scoring with an early layup off a feed from Derrick Brown and kept the Eagles within range during Bluefield's first-half surge. Brown added 15 points and eight rebounds, while guard AJ Shaw chipped in 11 points, four rebounds, a team-high six assists and three steals as the Eagles leaned on a balanced perimeter attack.

Reinhardt shot efficiently overall, finishing at 50.7% from the field (34 of 67) and 29.4% from 3-point range, knocking down five triples. The Eagles also generated 11 steals and 15 assists, frequently turning defense into offense during their second-half push. However, 16 turnovers and a 41-36 rebounding disadvantage, including Bluefield's 15 offensive boards, proved costly—none more so than Sanders' final rebound and putback that sealed the result.

Bluefield controlled much of the first half, using a pair of 3-pointers and second-chance points to build a 30-22 lead that grew to 44-31 by halftime after a late layup from Chase Ragin-Moore. The Rams extended the margin to 46-31 on the opening possession of the second half before Reinhardt began to chip away, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Jackson Sousa that cut the deficit to single digits. Sousa hit three 3-pointers after the break, including one with 5:42 remaining to bring the Eagles within 77-70.

From there, Reinhardt continued to apply pressure on both ends. The Eagles tightened their defense, forcing turnovers and limiting clean looks while attacking the rim in transition. Brown finished at the basket off a Williams assist to trim the margin to 83-80 with 1:14 left, setting up the dramatic closing stretch. After Bluefield briefly pushed the lead back out, Jones' three-point play drew Reinhardt level for the first time since the opening minutes, capping a 56-point second-half outburst.

This was a game that the Eagles did not want to get away from them and put them in a waiting mode to see how their postseason aspirations play out. The Eagles have the final tenth spot of the AAC Tournament, but Milligan still has one game to play.  With a win, this could tie the Buffaloes with Reinhardt, but Reinhardt won twice against Milligan and should own the tie-breaker.  Tune into AACsports.com for the latest info on the conference standings and the tournament.

https://www.aacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2025-26/standings