Williams’ 25 not enough as Reinhardt falls to Union Commonwealth, 74-57

Reinhardt University could not overcome Union Commonwealth’s efficient second-half surge, falling 74-57 on Wednesday night at the Brown Athletic Center in Waleska, Ga. A late 3-pointer by Union’s Drew Rhodes capped a decisive run that stretched the margin to as many as 25 points and put the game out of reach for the Eagles.

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. 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. 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 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. 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.

As a team, the Eagles shot 41.7 percent from the field (20-for-48) and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc (7-for-16), but the combination of turnovers and Union’s hot shooting proved difficult to overcome. Union finished at 55.1 percent from the floor (27-for-49) and 47.4 percent from 3-point range (9-for-19), using that efficiency to gradually widen the gap after halftime. Reinhardt was solid at the foul line, converting 10 of 13 attempts (76.9 percent), but did not get there often enough to offset Union’s offensive rhythm.

Despite the loss, the performance of Williams and Brown provided positives for the Eagles, who showed stretches of strong play against a high-efficiency opponent. Reinhardt will look to build on its first-half competitiveness and individual standout efforts as the schedule continues, focusing on tightening ball security and sustaining defensive intensity for four quarters.