BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Lynchburg College used a 9-3 spurt near the midway point of the second half to open up a 10-point lead and the Hornets held on down the stretch to defeat Bridgewater College, 84-78, Saturday afternoon in Old Dominion Athletic Conference basketball action.

The victory was big in the conference standings as the Hornets entered the contest just a game ahead of the Eagles. Lynchburg is now 13-4 overall and 6-2 in the ODAC while the Eagles drop to 9-7, 4-4 in conference play.

Bridgewater's Kenneth Waugh and Lynchburg's Gary Boone II traded the first six points of the game before a layup by Ed Reddick and a dunk by Tavis Stapleton put the Eagles on top 10-6.

The Eagles continued to extend the margin and led by eight when Kyle Welty knocked down a 3-pointer for a 21-13 lead.

Zach Burnett answered with a 3-pointer for the Hornets but a three-point play by Stapleton and a driving layup by Reddick pushed the Eagles lead to double figures, 26-16, with 10:38 left in the first half.

Lynchburg responded with an 8-2 spurt to slice the margin to four. Alex Graves worked inside and converted a three-point play and Manny Hernandez added a jumper, making the score 26-21. Reddick scored inside for the Eagles before a 3-pointer by Burnett cut the Eagles lead to 28-24.

A 3-pointer by Ronnie Thomas and another inside hoop by Reddick pushed the margin back to nine, but Burnett was fouled while launching a 3-pointer and made all three foul shots to make it six-point game, 33-27, at the 7:59 mark.

After a layup by Reddick, Graves and Burnett scored for the Hornets to cut the lead to four and a free throw by Stephen Booker cut the margin to three, 35-32, with 5:32 remaining.

The Eagles maintained the upper hand until a 6-0 spurt gave the Hornets the lead. Graves scored from in close and a 3-pointer by Austen Arnold tied the score at 39-39. After an Eagles turnover, Omar Kemp made 1-of-2 free throws for a 40-39 Lynchburg lead with 2:05 left in the first half.

The lead didn't last long as Stapleton connected on a 3-pointer to put the Eagles on top 42-40. Austen made two foul shots but Stapleton answered with a jumper to keep the Eagles on top by two. Burnett then tacked on two free throws for the Hornets with 39 seconds left, tying the score at 44-44 at the break.

Reddick opened the second half with two free throws but Burnett hit three foul shots in a row to give the Hornets a one-point lead.  Hernandez then knocked down a 3-pointer before Reddick hit two more foul shots to cut the Lynchburg lead to two, 50-48.

The Eagles tied the score on a layup by Daniel McClain before the Hornets reeled off an 11-4 run to open up a 61-54 lead with 14:31 left to play.

Bridgewater then answered with a 7-2 flurry, capped by David Larson's 15-footer, to pull within two, 63-61.

The next spurt belonged to Lynchburg as a 9-1 run propelled the Hornets to a 10-point lead.  Back-to-back 3-pointers by Harry West and Burnett pushed the margin to eight, 69-61, with 10:45 to play. After Aaron Adams hit 1-of-2 at the line, Hernandez nailed a 3-pointer, giving the Hornets a 72-62 lead at the 8:21 mark.

Two foul shots by Reddick and a 3-pointer by Welty trimmed the lead to five before a layup by Graves put the Hornets up 74-67.

The teams traded empty possessions before Reddick worked the paint and converted a 3-point play to pull the Eagles to within four. Graves scored again for the Eagles, but Stapleton hit two foul shots to keep the Eagles within four points.

A free throw by Graves made the score 77-72 with 3:33 remaining and then both squads went scoreless until a steal by Stapleton near midcourt led to a layup by Welty that trimmed the deficit to three points, 77-74 with 59 seconds remaining.

The Hornets then missed at the offensive end but the rebound went out of bounds and was last touched by the Eagles. Lyndon White then converted a crucial three-point play to put Lynchburg on top 80-74 with 48 seconds left.

The Eagles weren't finished as they took advantage of some missed free throws by the Hornets to pull back to within three points. A McClain layup cut the margin to four before Austen hit 1-of-2 foul shots, making the score 81-76 with 34 seconds left.

Bridgewater then missed at the offensive, but the Eagles got a break when Austen missed two free throws. Reddick then connected on two foul shots to make it a one possession game, 81-78, with 15 seconds left.

The Eagles were forced to foul and Burnett sank two clutch foul shots, making the score 83-78. After the Eagles' Waugh missed a 3-pointer, Graves made 1-of-2 foul shots for the final 84-78 margin.

Reddick finished with his second double-double of the week. The Eagles junior scored a career-high 29 points and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds. Stapleton and Welty added 12 points each.

Burnett paced the Hornets with 25 points and Graves added 19 points and a game-high 13 boards. Hernandez also reached double figures with 11 points.

A bit difference came on the glass where the Hornets held a 46-39 advantage. Second-chance opportunities hurt the Eagles as Lynchburg pulled down 22 offensive rebounds.

The Eagles connected on 42.6 percent of their shots, making 26-of-61 from the floor. Lynchburg made 26-of-69 shots for 37.7 percent. The Hornets were hot from beyond the arc, making 8-of-12 shots.