Bridgewater, VA.- The Bridgewater Eagles basketball team did not have its best game when traveling to Roanoke to face the Maroons on Jan. 24.
The game started off with the Maroons getting to the free throw line for their first couple points of the game. Junior Aaron Oates came back and drilled a three pointer to put the Eagles up 4-3 very early into the game.
As the game progressed in the early stages, Bridgewater seemed to have a hard time getting a shot to fall, as Roanoke jumped out to a 11-4 lead coming around the 10-minute mark. Freshman Jordan Cooper was able to knock down a three-pointer to make it 11-7 but then the Roanoke College Maroons went on a strong 11-0 run which made the score 24-7, causing BC to use its first timeout of the game.
Oates said, “They came out and smacked us in the mouth.”
After being subbed in, junior Joseph Crenshaw was able to halt the run by knocking down a free throw. Junior Will Dunlap was able to find a three-pointer later in the first half to make the score 30-12 in favor of the Maroons. The three pointers were seeming to drop for the Eagles late in the first half, with Dunlap and Junior RK Law knocking them down.
Roanoke College continued to attack the Eagles, but the Eagles were able to keep the score within 16 following the end of the first half. The score line was 42-26 in favor of the Roanoke College Maroons.
Continuing into the second half, the Eagles were able to start off with a Cooper dunk from an Oates pass followed by a couple of free throws to cut the deficit to 42-31 with around 15:46 left in the second half.
Cooper said, “We wanted to jump out and get going early in the second half.”
Both teams went back and forth on the defensive side of the ball, with Oates coming up with a steal, and then Zach Rosenthal for Roanoke College taking one right back. Rosenthal was able to find space for a three pointer to extend the Maroon lead to 52-34.
The defense combined with the offense for Roanoke College seemed to be too much to handle for the Eagles down the stretch. Rosenthal hit another three pointer, making the final score of the game 75-55.
