BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Bridgewater College used a 16-2 run in the first half to open up a 14-point lead and the Eagles held off Shenandoah over the final 20 minutes to take a 73-64 victory in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men's basketball action Wednesday evening at Nininger Hall.
The score was tied at 9-9 with 14:51 left in the first half when the Eagles hit the Hornets with the 16-2 run to take a double-digit lead.
Bridgewater (2-2, 1-0 ODAC) took the lead on a 12-footer by Ed Reddick and a 3-pointer by Marcus Curry pushed the Eagles advantage to 14-9. A driving layup by Kyle Welty and a three-point play by Reddick gave Bridgewater its first double-figure lead of the night, 19-9.
Jared Carithers scored on a driving layup for the Hornets but Logan Seacrist knocked down a 12-footer and Welty followed with a 3-pointer, making the score 24-11. Welty then made 1-of-2 at the foul line to put the Eagles on top by 14 points, 25-11, with 8:49 left in the opening half.
The lead stayed at 14 as Shenandoah's Xavier Alston and Seacrist traded hoops. After a Hornets turnover, Curry scored following on offensive rebound to give Bridgewater its largest lead of the game, 29-13, with 5:37 on the first-half clock.
A 3-pointer by Curry kept the margin at 16 points, 32-16, but the Hornets outscored the Eagles 6-2 over the final three minutes of the half to trail 36-22 at the break.
Shenandoah (1-5, 0-1 ODAC) needed just three minutes to erase most of the 14-point halftime deficit. Jimi Starks and Alston each hit a pair of buckets and Malcolm Clark added two foul shots as the Hornets opened the second half with a 10-0 spurt to trail by just four points, 36-32.
Curry knocked down a 3-pointer to end the Hornets flurry, but Shenandoah's Henry Sorsaia answered with a 3-ball to trim the margin back to four, 39-35.
The lead fluctuated between four and eight points until a quick 5-0 spurt by Shenandoah made it a three-point game. Aaron Patterson drained a 3-pointer and Carithers knocked down a 15-footer to pull the Hornets to within three, 49-46, with 7:14 left in the game.
Bridgewater responded with an inside bucket by Keonte Dennis and a transition layup by Zach Hunter to lead by seven, 53-46, with 6:17 remaining.
Two free throws by Carithers cut the margin to five, 55-50, but the Eagles reeled off a 7-0 spurt to push the lead back to double figures with less than four minutes left to play. Welty converted a three-point play to put the margin at eight and Reddick hit 1-of-2 foul shots, making the score 59-50 at the 4:30 mark. Following a missed 3-pointer by the Hornets' Sorsaia, Curry buried a 3-pointer from the corner to put the Eagles on top 62-50 with 3:43 left in the game.
Curry had the best outing of his young career as he led the Eagles with 21 points. The freshman hit 4-of-10 from beyond the arc and also pulled down six rebounds. Reddick was a force inside as he scored 16 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds. Welty, who missed the first three games of the season, came off the bench and gave the Eagles a big lift with 11 points.
Carithers was the lone Shenandoah player in double figures as he scored a game-high 25 points.
Bridgewater held a slim edge on the glass, 45-43, and the Eagles shot 42.5 percent from the field, making 25-of-59 shots.
The Eagles return to action Saturday afternoon when they hit the road to play Washington and Lee in another ODAC matchup. Game time is 4:00 p.m.