The men’s basketball team is without one of its top scorers this semester.
Senior Jason Reels was dismissed from Eastern for academic reasons. Before Reels’ departure, the three-year starter was averaging 15 points a game this season.
Reels also helped the Eagles offensively as they averaged 72 points a game during his eight-game tenure this year.
“I think we are going to be just fine,” Head Coach Matt Nadelhoffer said. “Losing a player is part of the game. We talked about it as a team. We are trying to get use to it. We have no choice but to move on. The guys have done that.”
Eastern is currently 3-6 without Reels, but the team has put up the same offensive numbers as they did before.
Sophomore guard Martin Soaries now leads the team with scoring, posting 17.6 points a contest, as first-year forward Alex Nelson has emerged as a go-to guy for the team, averaging 11.9 points a game.
“We rely on us being a full team than just relying on a couple guys,” senior captain Chris Myers said. “We run more offense now. We are not going to score as many points, but the tempo suits the way we play better. The steps that we are making are positive. There is no way to go but up.”
“Jason was the most vocal guy on the team,” Myers said. “It is a huge loss. We can still accomplish what we need to do, unfortunately without him.”
Nadelhoffer has already seen his troops stepping up to the challenge of filling the void.
“I think at first it was a little demoralizing,” Nadelhoffer said. “It is part of the game. It is part of being on a team. I just think Chris (Myers), Martin (Soaries), and Derek (Wright) have stepped up. It is not the end of our season. We have moved on.”