GREENSBORO, N.C. – Bridgewater jumped out to a quick 13-2 lead Saturday afternoon and turned back several Guilford runs as the Eagles picked up a key 71-62 victory over the Quakers in Old Dominion Athletic Conference men's basketball action.
The victory was the third straight for the Eagles and the first home conference loss of the season for the Quakers at Regan-Brown Field House.
Bridgewater's Ronnie Thomas and Guilford's Robbie Stokely traded buckets to open the game before the Eagles scored the next 11 points.
Thomas scored again on a jumper and Aaron Adams added a layup to put the Eagles up 6-2. Zach Hunter scored on a layup and Tavis Stapleton knocked down a jumper for a 10-2 edge. Thomas capped the run with a 3-pointer, giving the Eagles a 13-2 lead with 12:37 left in the first half.
Guilford survived the early punch and slowly chipped away at the lead. Guilford pulled to within three, 17-14, on a layup by Zeb Richardson, but a 3-pointer from Stapleton a bucket by Reddick pushed the Eagles lead back to eight 24-16.
The Quakers then outscored the Eagles 8-1 to pull within a single point, 25-24 with 2:11 left in the half. Reddick closed the first half with two buckets to send the Eagles to the locker room with a 29-24 lead at the break.
Guilford pulled even for the first time since the score was tied 2-2 when Will Koppenhaver and Matt McCarthy scored back-to-back buckets to tie the score 39-39 with 14:41 left in the game,
Bridgewater responded with an 8-1 spurt to open up a seven-point lead. Stapleton knocked down a 15-footer before Stokely hit 1-of-2 foul shots to pull the Quakers to within one, 41-40. McClain swished a 12-footer and Thomas and Reddick added layups, making the score 47-40, with 11:44 remaining.
The Quakers battled back again and two free throws by McCarthy trimmed the margin to two, 47-45 with 10:25 left.
The time the Eagle answered with a 9-0 run, holding the Quakers scoreless for nearly four minutes. Reddick worked the paint for a layup and then added a three-point play to push the Bridgewater lead to 52-45. The teams traded empty possessions before a layup by Adams made the score 54-45. A Guilford turnover led to a layup by Daniel McClain that put the Eagles up 56-45 with 7:05 left to play.
Alston Furr snapped the Quakers drought with a layup, but Thomas scored on a driving layup and then knocked down a 3-pointer, giving the Eagles a 61-47 lead with just 4:49 remaining.
Bridgewater missed just enough foul shots in the waning minutes to give the Quakers life and a 3-pointer by Trever Hyatt cut the margin to seven, 67-60, with 17 seconds left.
Thomas and Stapleton combined to make four straight free throws to close out the 71-60 Eagles victory.
Thomas filled up the stat sheet for the Eagles, leading the team with 18 points. He also added five assists, four rebounds and two steals. He did not turn the ball over in 34 minutes of action. The senior guard had plenty of support as Reddick scored 16 points, followed by Stapleton with 13 and Adams with 10. Reddick and McClain just missed double-doubles. Reddick pulled down eight rebounds while McClain finished with nine points and nine boards.
Hopkins paced the Quakers with 13 points and 16 rebounds. McCarthy scored 12 points and Richardson added 11.
The Eagles made 48.2 percent from the floor, connecting on 27-of-56 shots. The Bridgewater defense was also solid, limiting the Quakers to 37.5 percent shooting (24-of-64).
Bridgewater is now 12-10 overall and an even 7-7 in the ODAC. Guilford drops to 16-6, 10-3 in the ODAC.