BRIDGEWATER, Va.  – No. 8 Randolph-Macon stayed unbeaten in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play as the Yellow Jackets escaped Bridgewater's upset bid by turning back the Eagles 58-55 Wednesday evening at Nininger Hall.

Bridgewater (9-9, 4-5 in the ODAC) took a five-point lead, 46-41, with 9:03 left in the game on a layup in traffic by senior guard Kyle Welty. Randolph-Macon's Chris Hamilton knocked down a 3-pointer to trim the margin to two before two free throws by Keonte Dennis put the Eagles up 48-44 with 7:30 left.

Randolph-Macon (16-2, 9-0 in the ODAC) pulled to within two when Joe Hassell worked the paint for a bucket. Aaron Adams then connected on 1-of-2 at the foul line for a three-point, 49-46 Eagles lead. Another inside bucket from Hassell cut the Eagles' lead to one and Marcus Badger added 1-of-2 from the line to tie the score at 49-49 with 4:59 on the clock.

Two foul shots by Akeem Holmes gave the Yellow Jackets the lead, but Welty answered with a driving layup to tie the score at 51-51 with 3:42 remaining.

Hamilton knocked down another 3-ball to put the Jackets up three, but Logan Seacrist hit a pair of free throws to pull Bridgewater to within a point, 54-53, with 2:24 left.

Hamilton tallied again as his baseline jumper pushed the margin back to three. Welty made 1-of-2 foul shots and the Eagles trailed by just two, 56-54, with 1:59 left.

The defenses stiffened and neither team scored until the closing seconds.

Hamilton missed a 3-pointer out of a timeout and Zach Hunter controlled the rebound. Bridgewater probed for a good look against Macon's man defense and with the shot clock winding down Seacrist's open 15-footer rattled in-and-out with Badger chasing down the rebound for Randolph-Macon with 56 left.

Following another Macon timeout, Hamilton stepped out of bounds while lining up a 3-pointer from the right corner, giving the Eagles the ball with 35 seconds left.

Bridgewater got the basketball into Ed Reddick's hands and the Eagles' leading scorer was fouled on his drive to the basket with 3.6 seconds left. Reddick missed the first foul shot, but made the second, making the score, 56-55.

The Eagles immediately fouled Hamilton and he calmly made both foul shots for a 58-55 lead. Bridgewater had one last chance when Matthew Hunter's 28-footer at the buzzer hit the front of the rim as the Jackets escaped with the three-point victory.

Bridgewater jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead when Reddick hit two buckets and Welty added a layup. The Eagles limited the Yellow Jackets to just one field in the first six minutes and led 10-2 when Reddick scored again with 13:19 left in the first half.

Randolph-Macon took its first lead, 15-12, on a 3-pointer by Lamont Moore with 7:22 left in the half. Welty hit a 15-footer for the Eagles, but Rip Engle answered with a 3-pointer, giving the visitors an 18-14 lead. Buckets by Reddick and Welty then pulled the Eagles even at 18-18 with 6:07 left in the half.

Bridgewater big man Norman Barnes traded buckets with Macon big man Holmes before another layup by Barnes off a nifty pass from Welty put the Eagles on top 22-20.

Macon regained the lead late in the half, 26-25, when Hassell threw down a dunk, but Zach Hunter responded with a floater in the paint to put the Eagles up one. The lead changed hands two more times as Badger scored for Macon before another floater from Zach Hunter gave Bridgewater a one-point lead. Reddick added a short jumper in the closing seconds of the half to send the Eagles to the locker room with a 31-28 lead.

Welty scored 16 points for Bridgewater and Reddick added a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Zach Hunter also reached double figures with 10. Badger paced the winners with 16 points while Hassell and Hamilton each finished with 10.