Union Men’s Basketball Dominates on the Road Against Reinhardt

WALESKA, Ga. — The Union Commonwealth University men's basketball team (8-12, 6-5 AAC) picked up a road conference victory Wednesday night, defeating Reinhardt (5-12, 4-6 AAC) 74-57 at the Brown Athletic Center.

Junior center Ali Sakho dominated in the paint for Union, scoring a game-high 19 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Sakho shot 7-of-9 from the field and went 5-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Redshirt junior forward Kaleb Hedgepeth provided additional scoring for the Bulldogs, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half: Union Commonwealth 30, Reinhardt 28

Reinhardt opened the scoring with a tip-in, but Union responded with a dunk from Hedgepeth and a couple more baskets to take an early 5-2 lead. The Eagles answered with a 14-2 run to go ahead 16-7.

Union cut the deficit to one after a 10-2 run made it 18-17. Reinhardt briefly extended its lead to five at 22-17, but the Bulldogs would take the lead, using a 10-1 run to make it 27-23. Reinhardt trimmed the margin late, sending Union into halftime with a 30-28 lead.

Second Half: Union Commonwealth 74, Reinhardt 57

Reinhardt came out strong in the second half, reclaiming the lead at 33-30. Union responded with a decisive 21-8 run over the next eight minutes, sparked by a layup from Sakho, to build a 53-41 lead with 10:13 remaining.

Union continued to pull away down the stretch. With 3:24 left, redshirt junior guard Drew Rhodes knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 25 points at 74-49. Union would close out the game and secure the 74-57 win.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs will continue their three-game road stretch Saturday, Jan. 17, when they travel to Spartanburg, S.C., to face Spartanburg Methodist at Bridges Arena. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.