Bridgewater, VA.- The Bridgewater Men’s Basketball team got a win on the road against the Eastern Mennonite Royal’s with a 80-65 victory on Feb. 7.
The Eagles came out of the gate strong with freshman Jordan Cooper slamming a dunk followed by junior Aaron Oates nailing a three pointer before Eastern Mennonite even scored from making a mid-range jumper.
Cooper was able to find his way to another bucket giving the Eagles the lead 8-2, but then the Royals answered right back with a pair of three-pointers to tie the game 8-8.
Cooper continued his hot start to the game by weaving through traffic for another slam, making the score 10-8. The Royals answered again by nailing down another three pointer giving them the lead 11-10. Junior RK Law was able to get a quick five points back, giving the Eagles the lead before the first break in the game.
The Eagles and the Royals began to trade baskets before two big back to back three pointers from junior Will Dunlap and Law that put the Eagles in the lead by six. Bridgewater built on this momentum and gained a lead of 30-19 after an Oates three pointer.
The teams went back and forth trading buckets again, but the Eagles stayed in the lead. Even though the Royals were able to bring the score within five, the Eagles were able to stay strong. Cooper found another layup, followed by a fastbreak dunk by sophomore Khalil Ward, which was then followed by a step back three pointer at the buzzer by senior Landon Hawes to end the first half with the Eagles leading 42-34.
Junior Will Dunlap said “It was a back and forth game all the way through.”
The Royals came out in the second half strong, going on a 6-0 run. Ward responded by knocking down a three-pointer to get the eagles on the board. The Royals were able to tie the game up, but then the Eagles went on a 7-0 run to push the score to 52-45 which was capped off by Oates scoring a layup.
The Royals then went on their own 7-0 to tie the game up again at 52-52 with 8:18 left in the game. Ward was able to give the Eagles the lead momentarily at the line but then Aviwe Mahlong for the Royals tied it up at the line on the other end.
With slightly over seven minutes remaining, a basket by the Royals gave them the lead, but a foul and a dunk by senior Alec Topper gave BC the lead again. Cooper drove to the hole quickly to regain the lead after EMU tied the score. After Hagerman made a three-pointer to tie the game, Oates scored a huge basket and was fouled to put the team back ahead, 61-59.
EMU knotted the game once more, and Cooper responded with a huge two-handed dunk as soon as Topper dished to him. Even when Steve Burgess made a jump shot, the Royals were only down one point because of a long-range EMU make.
Cooper said “They kept throwing punches and we kept responding with haymakers.”
With 4:39 remaining, EMU brought the score within one. However, for the next four minutes, it was all BC. Over the last four minutes, the Eagles embarked on a 15-1 run, which was rounded off by two successful tries at the line by Hawes.
