BRIDGEWATER, Va. – After defeating the Hampden-Sydney Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 22, the Eagles men’s basketball team was seeded ninth for the ODAC tournament. The team is scheduled to travel back to Farmville to play the number eight-ranked team Hampden-Sydney in the first round on Tuesday, Feb. 25. 

The first time the Eagles faced the Tigers this season was in January. Bridgewater ended the game trailing the Tigers by 12 points with a score of 50-31 at home.

Bridgewater traveled to Hampden-Sydney last weekend to play the final game of their regular season and secured a spot in the ODAC tournament. This match-up, the second of the season between the two teams, resulted in an 88-82 win for the Eagles. 

Senior forward Davrion Grier led the Eagles with a game-high of 28 points on Saturday.  Three other team members also ended the game in double figures; sophomore guard Liam Caswell scored 17 points. While senior guard Chandler Murray had 13 points. Freshman guard and forward Jalil Langston ended with 10 points. 

If the Eagles pull through this game with a win against Hampden-Sydney, they will advance into the ODAC quarterfinals in Salem, VA and play Randolph-Macon on Friday, Feb. 28.  

Sophomore forward Kellan Hodge said that the men’s basketball team has not made it to play at the Salem Civic Center since 2013. 

“It would be really exciting to make it to the quarterfinals in Salem this season since it would be the first time in seven years that this team has gone,” said Hodge.

Caswell and Hodge both agree that the team has a strong chance of winning Tuesday’s game. 

“We did it once, so we can do it again,” said Caswell. 

When comparing their previous matches against Hampden-Sydney, Hodge expressed that Bridgewater has been lacking on defense and in order to succeed against the Tigers, they will have to keep them out of the paint and make sure to guard the shooters. 

“Constant ball movement and making sure we are using both sides of the court are going to be key in this game,” said Hodge. “We just need to go out there and leave it all on the court.”