Bridgewater Slips Past Randolph-Macon, 66-62

More news about: Bridgewater (Va.)

ASHLAND, Va. - Bridgewater College's Kenneth Waugh scored the final five points of the game Saturday afternoon to lift the Eagles to a huge ODAC road victory over Randolph-Macon, 66-62.

A layup by Randolph-Macon's Lamar Giggetts put the Yellow Jackets on top, 62-61, with 1:47 left in the game.

The Eagles then turned the ball over, but the Yellow Jackets missed a pair of free throws, keeping the lead at one. Waugh then put the Eagles on top, 64-62, with a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left to play.

Giggetts then failed to connect on the next possession and Waugh was fouled after grabbing the defensive rebound. The BC junior hit both free throws with five seconds left to ice the victory for the Eagles.

Tavis Stapleton led the Eagles with 17 points and Ed Reddick added a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Waugh also reached double figures with 11 points and Ronnie Thomas added nine points and four assists.

Waugh's output off the bench led a productive afternoon for the Eagles off the bench. The Bridgewater reserves combined for 22 points and 11 rebounds. David Larson had a solid effort with six points and six boards off the bench.

Giggetts paced Randolph-Macon with 23 points and seven rebounds. Connor Sullivan was the only other Yellow Jacket in double figures as he finished with 10 points

The opening half was tightly contested with the biggest difference being five points late in the half.

The Yellow Jackets led 35-30 with 3:10 left in the half, but the Eagles closed to within two with a 5-2 spurt.

A jumper by Bridgewater's Aaron Adams cut the margin to three before a layup by Marcus Badger pushed Randolph-Macon's lead back to five. Stapleton then drained a 3-pointer with just 14 seconds left in the half to pull the Eagles to within two, 37-35, at the break.

Bridgewater opened the second half with a 10-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 45-37.

Reddick started the scoring with a layup and Stapleton added another 3-pointer, giving the Eagles a 40-37 lead. Stapleton then added a layup and another 3-pointer to put the Eagles on top by eight with 16:51 left to play.

The Yellow Jackets responded with a quick 8-0 burst to tie the score. Sullivan knocked down a 3-pointer and Akeem Holmes added a layup to pull Randolph-Macon to within three. After a BC turnover, Chris Hamilton hit from bonus range for the Yellow Jackets to tie the score at 45-45.

Bridgewater then answered with another spurt, this one an 8-2 run to lead by six. Adams and Giggetts traded hoops before a three-point play by Stapleton put the Eagles on top 50-47. After a missed shot by Holmes, Thomas drained a 3-pointer and the Eagles lead 53-47 with 11:56 remaining.

The Yellow Jackets whittled away at the deficit and finally regained the lead, 58-57, on a 3-pointer by Sullivan with 4:38 left.

Larson's jumper put the Eagles back on top but two foul shots by Badger gave the Yellow Jackets a 50-59 edge with 2:28 to play.

Reddick and Giggetts then traded buckets to set the stage for Waugh's late-game heroics.

With the victory, Bridgewater improved to 9-6 overall and 3-3 in the ODAC. Randolph-Macon dropped to 8-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play.