BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Eastern Mennonite survived a late Bridgewater rally Wednesday evening to defeat the Eagles 80-75 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference men's basketball action.

Eastern Mennonite opened up an early 10-point, 18-8 lead and the Royals lead hovered around the double digit mark the rest of the half.

The Royals rode a hot hand from 3-point range to maintain the first-half lead. EMU hit 7-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first half, including 3-of-5 by Kwa McDonald.

The Eagles overcame their slow start to remain within striking distance by attacking the Royals pressure defense for numerous easy layups. Ronnie Thomas scored six of his eight points in transition and Ed Reddick came off the bench with 13 first-half points.

Reddick's bucket with 38 seconds left in the half trimmed the EMU to 45-37 at the break.

The Eagles made their first run at the Royals early in the second as a 9-2 spurt cut the deficit to three points.

A dunk by David Falk put the Royals up 50-39 before Bridgewater's Tavis Stapleton and McDonald traded hoops to keep the margin at 11. Aaron Adams scored on a driving layup and Ronnie Thomas added a pair of jumpers, cutting the lead to five. Reddick then knocked down two foul shots, making the score 52-49 with 13:40 left.

The Royals responded with a 12-2 run of their own to push the lead back to double digits, 64-51. Marcel Crump sandwiched a pair of buckets around a layup by Adams for a 56-51 EMU lead. James Williams hit two foul shots and Crump added a 3-pointer to push the lead to 10, 61-51. After Falk made 1-of-2 at the line, Woody Furbush scored on a layup to cap the run and give EMU a 64-51 lead at the midway point of the second half.

Bridgewater survived the Royals flurry and slowly began to chip away at the deficit.

With the Royals still ahead by 13 points, 66-53, Reddick and Thomas sparked an 8-0 run that cut the margin to five. Reddick scored from down low and Thomas tallied on a driving layup to get the margin back to single digits. Reddick scored again in the post and Zach Hunter converted a steal into a breakaway layup, making the score 66-61, with 7:03 still to play.

Crump and Thomas traded buckets before a free throw by Falk gave EMU a 69-62 lead. Reddick worked the paint for another bucket, but Ryan Yates answered with a jumper to keep the Royals lead at seven. Thomas then swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Bridgewater's first make from beyond the arc in the game, to pull the Eagles to within four, 71-67, with 4:18 to go.

Williams knocked down a big 3-pointer for the Royals, but a free throw by Thomas and a layup by Stapleton once again sliced the margin to four, 74-70. Yates then missed a jumper and Thomas connected on his second 3-pointer of the night to make it a one-point game, 74-73, with 2:41 left.

The teams exchanged empty possessions before a short jumper by Reddick gave Bridgewater its first lead of the game, 75-74, with 1:09 remaining.

EMU regained the lead on a driving layup by RJ Sims and on the ensuing possession Hunter was fouled on a drive down the line. Hunter, however, missed both free throws and then Yates tacked on two foul shots for the Royals with 25 seconds left for a 78-75 lead.

Crump then came up with a big defensive play as he blocked Stapleton's shot from behind and then controlled the defensive rebounds. Bridgewater fouled Sims with nine seconds left for the final margin of victory.

Reddick and Thomas combined for 47 points to lead the Eagles offense. Reddick scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Thomas scored 22 points and pulled down a team-high nine boards. Stapleton scored 10 points for the Eagles.

Crump paced the Royals with 20 points while McDonald scored 16 and Williams tallied 10. Falk, the ODAC's leading rebounder, snared 15 rebounds.

Bridgewater is now 12-11 overall and 7-8 in the ODAC. EMU improves to 14-10, 9-8 in the conference.

The Eagles close out the regular season Saturday when they travel to Lynchburg College. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.