Princeton’s Reinhardt keys win over Newman

Senior’s late steal and pair of baskets pushes Tigers to victory

Newman coach Ray Sharp was ready to express early graduation wishes to Princeton senior Jamie Reinhardt after he stole a victory from the Comets on Saturday night at Prouty Gym.

The Comets rallied from a six-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to take a one-point lead only to have Reinhardt take it right back. Reinhardt scored on a floater with a soft touch to regain the Tigers lead and then quickly stole the ball right back for a layup to push the Tigers lead to 55-52.

Jake Ackman got a good look for a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Comets, but it rimmed in and out as the Tigers held on for a Senior Night victory.

Sharp walked past Reinhardt in the commons after the game on his way out and gave him a hard time about stealing that ball.

“We took that lead and thought we had a chance and Reinhardt’s Reinhardt. Makes a floater, a tough shot, kind of rolls around and goes in,” Sharp said. “And then he just picked the pocket of our point guard, the only time our starting point guard gave it up to him all night. He’s a great player.”

Sharp learned Saturday night from Tigers’ dad John Reinhardt at the scorer’s table that he’ll have another son, Jordan, joining the PHS program next year following the footsteps of brothers Jake, Josh and Jamie.

“He’s got another one in eighth grade, so we always know there’s going to be a good Reinhardt on their basketball team, that’s for sure,” Sharp said with a laugh.

Reinhardt poured in 21 points as he zeroes in on 1,000 career points. He needs 26 with two games remaining against St. Bede next week in the COVID-19 shortened season.

“He did what a senior should do, especially on Senior Night,” PHS coach Jason Smith said. “He shows up. He never talks back. He’s extremely coachable. I think we hit it right off when I first started here and formed a relationship that I consider pretty special. And I think we benefited from him being special tonight, that’s for sure.”

Junior Kaden Monroe and sophomore Teegan Davis added eight points each as the Tigers improved to 5-3.

Luke Jungerman led the Comets (2-3) with 12 points and Brett Newman and Jake Ackman added 10 each.

The Three Rivers rivals played to a 13-all tie after one quarter with the Tigers inching ahead, 25-22, at halftime on a bucket by senior Caleb Haring in the post.

The Tigers used a 10-2 run early in the third quarter to extend their lead to nine. Reinhardt scored on a layup at 5:21 to make it 31-26 and followed hoops by junior Kaden Monroe with another basket to put the Tigers ahead, 37-28.

Gabe Hunsberger hit a pull-up 3-pointer on the break to pull Newman within 37-36, but Jackson Dressler answered with a 3 for the Tigers. Teegan Davis scored on the break for a 41-36 Tiger lead at quarter’s end.

Reinhardt sank a pair of free throws with 3:36 left to play as Newman’s Marcus Williams picked up his fifth personal and took an early seat.

Ackman hit a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key to pull the Comets within 51-49 with two mintues remaining. Nate Neubauer sank 1 of 2 free throws and Andrew Velasquez made a pair from the line to gain a short-lived 52-51 Newman edge before Reinhardt stole it away.

“Whenever you play a team by coach Sharp they always seem to give you troubles no matter how good they are. That’s just a battle throughout,” Smith said.

Sharp said the Comets hurt themselves with too many turnovers.

“We had us for 25 turnovers. You know, if you give the other team 25 extra possessions it’s really hard to win,” he said. “That was probably the biggest thing that hurt us the most tonight. And some silly fouls at the other end of the court where they can’t score. Commit a turnover and that compounds it.

“The effort was there. We played really hard. They played really hard. They’re a quality team, so we’re happy to battle.”

Sharp said it’s been a tough go for the Comets, who paused at the start of the season because of multiple cases of COVID-19 at school and did not play their first game until Feb. 26 at St. Bede. The Comets now have played five games in the past eight days.

“We really don’t have any legs yet. I really think it affects our shooting. I think we were 5 for 22 from 3. That’s where it probably affects us the most,” Sharp said.

Smith was happy to see the Tigers bounce back with a win after losses to Ridgewood, 75-70, and East Moline, 60-49, this week.

“I would have liked to have won two out of three this week, but competing against teams of that caliber, one out of three is not bad and we gained experienced along the way,” he said. “I’m glad they responded the way they did. I knew Newman was going to give us fits, even though they were coming off a game last night, so back to back nights.

“I thought our fresh legs really helped us out there at the end. Williams fouling out was huge. It was a nice job the way the guys responded tonight with a W.”

Notes: PHS seniors Reinhardt, Haring, Cael Davis and Isaac Legner and their parents were recognized before Saturday’s games. ... Newman won the the sophomore game, 53-42, led by Gabe Padilla (20 points) and Dylan Garland (15). James Starkey had 14 points and Christian Rosario added 12.