VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Bridgewater College men's basketball team knocked off No. 20 Virginia Wesleyan 75-56 for the Eagles' first win over a ranked opponent under coach Steve Enright and the first victory against a nationally-recognized team since Feb. 2, 2019 against Lynchburg.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Bridgewater 75; No. 20 Virginia Wesleyan 56
Records: Bridgewater 11-5 (4-3 ODAC); No. 20 Virginia Wesleyan 14-3 (5-3 ODAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both defenses got stops in the early going before Alec Topper drained a long ball to give BC a lead. Aaron Oates followed with a jumper before a pair of free throws put the Marlins on the board. Oates struck again on a second chance effort as Woody Machado got the offensive board and kicked it to the junior for the three-pointer to make it 8-2. VWU struggled to hit from the floor in the early going until Amarion Wilson laid it in at the cup over three minutes in. Virginia Wesleyan crept back in and took a quick 10-8 lead behind an 8-0 run before a layup and three-pointer from Topper put the Eagles back in front 13-10. Landon Hawes drilled a three-pointer of his own to stretch the lead out to six before another big run by the Marlins gave them the lead back at 17-16 midway through the opening half.  
• Now trailing, Joseph Crenshaw went to work on defense and poked a ball free and found RK Law in transition for an easy two to wrestle the lead back. Hawes drained another long ball and Law followed with one of his own. Jordan Cooper followed with a layup in transition and was fouled. The freshman point guard made the free throw that followed to give BC a 27-17 lead with 7:35 to go in the opening stanza. Copper pushed the lead out to 12 after another bucket in the paint, but the Marlins were not going away without a fight. VWU put together a 6-0 run before Hawes made an old-school three-point play to shift the momentum. On cue, Miles Wallace nailed a triple to close back in and help Virginia Wesleyan outscore Bridgewater 10-8 over the final four minutes of the half, making it 40-33 in favor of the Eagles at the break.
• Out of the intermission the two sides traded blows, but three-point makes from Will Dunlap and Cooper helped the Eagles extend the lead out to 52-38. Oates added fuel to the fire with another long ball and Topper followed with a layup to make it a 19-point game. VWU slowly started to creep back in with a 6-2 run, but free throws from Hawes and a layup from Cooper swung the momentum back to the visitor's side.
• The two sides traded scores down the stretch as every time Virginia Wesleyan looked to close in Bridgewater had a response waiting. A Topper old-fashioned three-point play with 3:39 to go stretched the lead out to 70-50, the largest of the night, before the Marlins looked to work quick. VWU got a three-point bucket, but free throws from Cooper on the other end helped the Eagles maintain the edge. Will Vetter put the final letter in the book with a three-point make inside the final minute.

MATCH NOTES

• Topper and Oates led all scorers with 19 points each in the Eagles first win over a ranked opponent since Feb. 2, 2019.  Topper and Oates each had seven or more rebounds, an assist and a steal in the victory.
• Wallace led VWU with 15 points and five rebounds. The reigning NCBWA Player of the Week Khai Seargeant added eight.
• The BC defense led to good offense. The Eagles blocked six shots, including three from Topper. Cooper led Bridgewater with three steals as VWU was held to 32.8% from the field.
• The win is Bridgewater's first over a ranked opponent since the 2018-19 season and is the first under Enright. The win also ended a losing streak in TowneBank Arena for the Eagles as the last time Bridgewater defeated the Marlins on the road was on Feb. 4, 2009.

UP NEXT
Bridgewater returns home to host cross-town rival EMU on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game is sponsored by Rockingham Cooperative Ace Hardware with rally towels handed out to the first 300 fans in attendance.