FARMVILLE, Va. (BC Athletics) – The Bridgewater College men’s basketball team fell to No. 8 Hampden-Sydney 75-68 as BC’s second half effort came up just short.

Score: No. 8 Hampden-Sydney 75, Bridgewater 68
Records: Bridgewater 6-8 (1-4 ODAC), No. 8 Hampden-Sydney 11-3 (4-1 ODAC)

How It Happened
• Bridgewater got on the board first as Taylor Fincham and Keiman connected for a layup, but back-to-back scores by the Tigers put the home side in front. Aaron Oates drilled a three-pointer in transition for the Eagles to give them the lead back for a moment, but five-unanswered points by H-SC made it 9-5 just over five minutes in. BC responded with a Jordan Cooper jumper and the teams traded scores as a long ball by cooper cut the lead down to 15-13 at the 12:37 mark.
• The Tigers stretched the lead following a media timeout thanks to an 8-2 run to make it 23-15 midway through the half. The Eagles clapped back with a Maleek Richardson score and Khalil Ward followed as he got a steal and knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to a bucket. Adam Brazil was able to get H-SC back on the board, but a long-range make by Cooper cut the lead down to just two at 25-23. The two sides traded scores over the seven minutes of the half, but the Tigers slowly pulled further in front thanks to some clutch shooting beyond the arc. A pair of makes at the charity stripe by Cooper helped BC make it a 38-32 game at the break.
• Both teams traded scores out of the half before a pair of three-pointers by the Tigers swelled the lead to 53-40 with 13:22 to play. Ward made a pair of free throws to end the miniature run by the Tigers, but then both defenses dug in as both sides went scoreless for just under four minutes of play.
• Bridgewater ended the scoring drought first as a Richardson layup got the gap down to single digits with nine minutes on the clock. Richardson added a pair of makes at the line to slice the lead to 53-46 before the Tigers finally ended their five-minute cold spell with a Brazil bucket. Richardson continued to roll as he nailed a three-pointer in response to make it just a two-possession game with 7:30 to play. Hampden-Sydney got their offense together and started to pull away at the tone of an 8-2 run to go ahead 63-51 with under five minutes to go. The Tigers eventually swelled the lead to 68-55 with 2:20 on the clock before an Oates score and a BC timeout came into play. The Eagles got a stop and Ward threw it down in transition to cut the lead back down to nine with under two minutes to play. H-SC made free throws on the other end, but two bug three-pointers from RK Law made it a 71-65 game with 44 seconds to play and forced a timeout. H-SC went to the line and only made one-of-two at the line and BC still had live. Richardson nailed a three-pointer with 18 seconds to go and cut the lead to just four. The home side got the inbound pass in, and BC was forced to foul. Brazil made both of his attempts at the line to seal the deal.

Notes
• Cooper led BC and tied for the game-high with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Richardson added 14 points and a game-high five assists while Oates tossed in a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
• Brazil led the way for the Tigers with 18 points. Colin Radcliffe added 15 points including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
• Despite the difference in Massey Rating and the national ranking next to the Tigers, the two teams were fairly even across the stat sheet. H-SC shot better from the floor at a 46.6% clip compared to a 38.5% mark for BC. Hampden-Sydney was just 57.9% from the free throw line which kept BC in the game late.

Up Next
Bridgewater returns home on Wednesday to take on Randolph at 7:30 p.m.

— BC Athletics —