Lancers fall to EKU, Ball State over weekend

Published 6:22 pm Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Jarelle Reischel scored 18 of his career-high 37 points over the final 7:15 to engineer a late comeback and lift Eastern Kentucky to a 110-97 win over Longwood men’s basketball Sunday on the final day of the EKU Hoops Classic in McBrayer Arena.

Led by a perfect 8-of-8 shooting performance by Reischel down the stretch, Eastern Kentucky (4-1) hit 11-of-12 shots and outscored Longwood 34-18 over the final 7:15 to overcome a 78-76 Longwood lead with under eight minutes to play.

The 6-7, 210-pound Reischel finished 10-of-11 from the floor and filled the stat sheet with 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals and a pair of blocks to push the Colonels to an undefeated weekend at their home tournament.

Email newsletter signup

Reischel’s dominant run in the closing minutes came as part of an 81.3 percent shooting performance in the second half for Eastern Kentucky, which trailed Longwood 43-42 at halftime. The Lancers erupted for their highest scoring output against a Division I opponent since a 102-101 win over Liberty on Feb. 19, 2013, but the Colonels countered that with their second 100-point game of the season.

Reischel was one of three double-digit scorers for Eastern Kentucky alongside Javontae Hawkins’ 26-point effort and point guard Paul Jackson’s 13-point, 14-assist double-double game.

Reischel and Hawkins both topped 20 points in the second half to outpace another dominant effort from Longwood center Lotanna Nwogbo, who poured in 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting for his second 20-point game of the weekend.

Eastern Kentucky had no answer for Nwogbo from the start, allowing the 6-8, 255-pound redshirt senior to hit his first six field goals en route to 15 points in the first half.

Despite added attention in the paint in the second half, he posted 11 more points after the break to keep open shooting space for Longwood’s backcourt.

Reischel’s 37 points go down as the first 30-point game Longwood has allowed this season and the highest scoring output by an opposing player since the 2011-12 season.

It was the highest individual scoring game of the EKU Hoops Classic, surpassing the 27 points Nwogbo scored Friday against S.C. State and the 26 Nwogbo and Hawkins scored on Sunday.

Led by 17 points from Ryan Weber, Ball State outlasted a 21-point effort from Kanayo Obi-Rapu and a career-high 18 points from Khris Lane to take down Longwood, 78-67, on Saturday.

The mass of free throws was a product of foul trouble for the Lancers (2-2), who saw two players –—including starting center Lotanna Nwogbo — foul out and two other starters hobbled by four fouls apiece. Ball State took advantage of those trips to the line in the second half, hitting 18-of-21 foul shots after the break.

That efficiency from the line was enough to help the Cardinals overcome the third 20-point game of the season from Obi-Rapu, who nearly engineered Longwood’s comeback with 17 second-half points.

The Lancers will now have to prepare for another two-game road trip, beginning Wednesday at Maine and concluding Saturday at Columbia.