Bridgewater Pulls Away From Roanoke, 76-57

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BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Bridgewater College snapped its two-game losing streak Saturday afternoon by running away from Roanoke College in the second half on the way to a 76-57 victory in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men's basketball action.

Tavis Stapleton posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Eagles. Ronnie Thomas was the only other Bridgewater player in double figures with 11 points, but Aaron Adams and Daniel McClain each scored nine points off the bench as the Bridgewater reserves combined to score 36 points. Bridgewater shot 47 percent from the floor while limiting the Maroons to 36.2 percent shooting.

Julian Ramirez paced the Maroons with 16 points and Andrew Daniels added 12. Bridgewater held big man Daniel Eacho to nine points, well below his 17.5 scoring average.

The Eagles held a slim edge on the boards, 42-41. In addition to Stapleton's 10 boards, David Larson came off the bench and contributed five rebounds. Eacho grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Maroons.

The teams traded points early in the first half before buckets by Ethan Humphries and Julian Ramirez gave the visitors a 12-8 advantage.

Daniel McClain scored for the Eagles but another bucket by Ramirez kept the Maroons on top by four 14-10.

The teams continued to trade points until a three-point play by Daniel McClain pulled the Eagles to within one, 18-17 with 9:49 left in the half.

Seth Bradley then drained a 3-pointer and Andrew Daniels added a driving layup to push the Roanoke lead to 23-17. Sammy Tyson swished a 15-footer for the Eagles, but Daniel Eacho answered with a bucket after an offensive rebound, keeping the Maroon's lead at six, 25-19.

Ramirez made 1-of-2 free throws for the Maroons to pad the lead to seven, but the remainder of the half belonged to Bridgewater.

The Eagles closed the first half with a 17-1 run to take a nine-point lead at the half.

Trailing 26-19 with 6:03 left in the half, the Eagles pulled to within three, 26-23, on layups by Zach Hunter and Tavis Stapleton.

A jumper by Stapleton closed the gap to one before Roanoke big man Daniel Eacho hit 1-of-2 at the foul line to put the Maroons up by two.

The Eagles tied the score on a layup by Hunter and then took the lead when Daniel McClain took a pass across the lane from Stapleton and converted a layup for a 29-27 lead with 2:25 left in the first half.

After a Roanoke turnover, Aaron Adams scored from in close for a 31-27 Bridgewater lead. The teams traded empty possessions before a 3-pointer by Ronnie Thomas put the Eagles on top 34-27 with 30 seconds left in the half.

Roanoke missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds and Hunter was fouled on the rebound. Hunter missed the foul shot, but Adams chased down the rebound and hit a fade-away jumper from 15 feet out at the buzzer, giving the Eagles a 36-27 lead at the break.

The Maroons hit the Eagles with a 7-0 run to start the second half, but Bridgewater came out of a timeout and Kenneth Waugh made a long 3-pointer for a 41-34 lead. Stapleton then scored on a driving layup and Thomas hit a wide-open 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Eagles on top 46-34.

From that point the Eagles took command with a 14-6 run to open up a 20-point lead.

Eacho and Stapleton traded buckets and a free throw by Stapleton gave the Eagles a 49-36 lead. After a layup by Ramirez, Waugh knocked down a long 3-pointer for a 52-38 advantage.

Daniels scored for the Maroons, but the Eagles reeled off the next eight points to blow the game open. Stapleton hit two foul shots and Adams scored on the break for a 56-40 lead. Adams added 1-of-2 from the line before a Thomas 3-pointer put the Eagles up 60-40 with 10:09 left.

The Eagles took their biggest lead, 70-46, on a three-point play by Stapleton before settling for the final 76-57 margin of victory.

Bridgewater is now 8-6 overall and 3-3 in the ODAC while the Maroons fall to 6-8, 0-6 in conference play.