Waleska, GA - After having all three scheduled games last week postponed due to the wintery weather, the Summer Hill Blue Devils were chomping at the bit to get back on the court versus the JV Eagles of Reinhardt College on Wednesday night. After a quick start, then a lull, the Blue Devils got cranked up and raced to a 129-76 win over the Eagles.
Summer Hill jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the early stages of the game, behind Scott Windom and Mike Reynolds. Windom dominated the paing, while Reynolds converted several transition buckets. Reinhardt mounted a comeback, as Kevin Nordeen and Ryan Blackmon combined for four treys in a 17-6 stretch, to eventually knot the score up at 21-all. Summer Hill moved back ahead on DeMarlow Simmons dribble drive. The teams would trade buckets for several minutes, when Chris Brown scored a string of points off of clever defensive tactics, once stripping Nordeen of the ball at mid-court and twice stepping in to steal passes in the lane. He scored on each possession, helping the Devils re-build an 11 point cushion at 47-36. Later, Dee Henderson executed a give and go hitting the shot in the lane, then drained a three. A still hot Brown hit a clean mid-range jumper off of a Brandon Harris screen, increasing the Devil lead to 56-41 with 5.6 left in the opening half. The Eagles inbounded for the last shot of the half, but Brown had other ideas. After he and Tony Cook trapped at half court, Brown came up with a steal, turned and launched a 40-footer that banked in at the buzzer. Brown who chalked up 16 first half points, gave Summer Hill a comfortable 59-41 lead at the break.
In the second half, Summer Hill came out on a 6-0 run and Reinhardt made quick subsitutions, which generated another string of three-pointers - this time from Robert Keller, who nailed three straight. The Devils countered by taking advantage in the post and went to Cook on consecutive trips. Cook's offense, along with a trey from Marcus Henderson, helped the Devils weather the Eagles' three point barrage and exploded once it went cold. Reynolds also heated up for two threes, as Reinhardt suddenly found the game out of reach at 96-67. Down the stretch, the Eagles' long misses started generating quick baskets for Summer Hill's very active second unit. Down the stretch, newcomers Stuart Mitchell, Sidney Narcisse and Rob Gardner did a great job of applying the defensive pressure on the perimeter that translated into transition buckets.
"I thought we did a great job offensively tonight. Defensively, when we finally began contesting Reinhardt's perimeter efforts, we were able to break the game open," said Coach David Archer, Jr. "The second unit really was the key tonight, as Brown, Henderson, Narcisse and the other newcomers really provided a spark off the bench. We became a better team tonight," added Archer.
Nordeen led the Eagles with 19, while Jackson Hayes had 18 and Keller finished with 17. The Eagles, who as a team hit 14 threes in the game, dropped to 3-8 on the season.
For Summer Hill, who moved to 10-4 on the season, Reynolds led all scorers with 21, as Marcus Henderson got 19, Brown 18, Windom 16, Cook 15 and Harris 13. Mitchell collected seven, while Simmons, Dee Henderson, Narcisse and Gardner each contributed five points. Henderson also finished the night with 14 rebounds and five blocks.
The Devils will put an eight-game win streak on the line when they travel to Oxford College on Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm. On Sunday, Summer Hill will return home to host a much improved Gordon College Highlander squad. Sunday's tipoff is scheduled for 4:30pm at JH Morgan Gym in Cartersville.
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