Knights men’s basketball pulls off thrilling overtime victory against Reinhardt Eagles
The St. Andrews men’s basketball team defied all odds and triumphed over long time conference powerhouse Reinhardt in a hard-fought matchup that went into overtime Saturday afternoon at Harris Court.
The crowd was alive, on fire, and electric throughout the whole match as the Knights maintained a significant lead throughout the day.
But the Reinhardt Eagles were ready to fight back against their opponents at every opportunity. The visitors came within one (87-86) with two minutes remaining in regulation.
The Eagles missed a close three pointer at the 1:32 mark, and with a slight lead, the Knights aimed to run the clock as much as they could on their possessions.
A heartbreaking turnover for the home team at 1:20 by Jeremiah Dickerson gave the Eagles yet another crucial three pointer opportunity. They were not able to convert, leaving the Knights on top.
The Knights called a full timeout to calm down the tempo and run their offense that had proven successful the entire game.
After the Knights full timeout, Quwan Barnes missed his layup. But a foul by the Eagles’ Nate Lewis gave Barnes the chance to redeem himself and make 2 free throws (2-3 FTM-A on the day).
Not long after a 30 second Reinhardt time out, another foul by the visiting team gave Jalen McAfee-Marion a chance to put more points on the board for his team (3-5 FTM-A, 27 PTS).
The Eagles then scored with a layup and called a full timeout with :15 seconds remaining to reset game tempo.
Reinhardt sent McAfee-Marion to the free throw line again, where he made one of his free throws (91- 88 on the scoreboard).
Reinhardt wasn’t ready to quit just yet, when Eagles’ Nate Jones bolted down the floor, using his speed and agility to get his three-point shot attempt. The shot was good, keeping the Eagles alive, and sending the game into overtime tied up at 91-91.
The Knights turned up their defense for the first two minutes of OT, holding the Eagles scoreless for almost the first two minutes.
Eagle’s Derrian Reed makes a 3 pointer at the 3:10, putting the visitors on top.
McAfee-Marion responds with his own layup, and a frantic and desperate Reinhardt fails to make their next two 3-point attempts. Caleb Brown entered the game to take over for Garret McRae at 2:57.
The Eagles foul at 2:40, granting Allan Taylor the moment he needed to redeem the Knights lead. He nets both of his attempts to make the score 95-94.
Brown made the pivotal play of the game when he converted his steal into a layup, upsetting the tempo of the game in the Knights favor. The Eagles converted a layup on the next possession, still leaving the Knights in front.
McRae's made free throw created a two point lead for the Knights, and a last ditch effort by the Eagles to close it out with a three pointer failed to connect.
The Knights took the game, 98-96, upsetting the Appalachian Athletic Conference third seed Reinhardt Eagles.
With the win, the Knights improve to 5-18, 3-17 in conference.
Their next matchup is against Union on February, 17, at 2:00 P.M.