BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater Men’s Basketball team picked up their first ODAC win of the season with a 57-56 win over Averett on Wednesday.

Final Score: Bridgewater 57, Averett 56
Records: Bridgewater 6-6 (1-2 ODAC), Averett 6-8 (2-3 ODAC)

How It Happened
• The contest opened as advertised, with Averett corralling three offensive rebounds on its opening possession, ending with a Cougar bucket to take a 2-0 lead. BC quickly responded as Landon Hawes drove down the lane for a layup. Hawes poked he ball away from a Cougar on the next possession and found Shod Smith in transition for an easy two and the first BC lead of the night. Bridgewater stretched the advantage to six as Liam Caswell put the exclamation point on the 8-0 run with a dunk.

• Just over midway through the opening frame, the Eagles extended their lead out to eight as Hawes drilled a three pointer to make it 21-13 with 9:18 left in the first half. Averett was able to stay in the contest with an 8-0 run led by four free throws. A Zach Shumate layup tied the game, but Andy Pack completed two consecutive old-fashioned three-point plays allowing the Eagles to step back out in front. Averett knocked down the final bucket of the half to break a three-minute drought for the Cougars, sending the game to the intermission with BC in front 27-23.

• Each team traded buckets to start the second half, but Averett slowly chipped away at the Bridgewater lead with an 8-1 run spanning just under five minutes of game time. A Jordan Lewis layup gave the Cougars the lead and two Shumate three-pointers off the glass stretched the advantage to five points.

• With the Eagles back against the wall, Pack answered again. The graduate student nailed a three-pointer after Khalil Ward found him open on the wing. Ward put BC back in front a few possessions later when he nailed a three-pointer of his own to make it 38-37 Eagles with 10:58 left to play.

• The two squads traded the lead for much of the second half until Averett took a four-point advantage with just over five minutes to go. Smith found Pack open beyond the arc and the graduate student found nylon again to cut the lead down to just one. Aaron Oates was able to put Bridgewater back in front with 2:45 on the clock when he sank a hook shot in the paint to make it 54-53. Three free throws by Smith down the stretch pushed the Bridgewater lead to four points with 28 seconds remaining. Out of a timeout, Jordan Lewis knocked down a three-pointer to make it just a one-point game.

• Averett was forced to foul after not forcing a turnover after the basket, sending Oates to the line for BC. Oates missed the front end of the one-and-one resulting in a Cougars defensive rebound. Lewis was able to get a shot off just before the buzzer, but it was no good. The two teams scrapped for the rebound, but no one came up with it as the horn sounded.

Match Notes
• Pack and Smith led the Eagles in scoring with each totaling 12 points on the night.

• Bryson McLaughlin had a monster night on the boars grabbing 15 rebounds and racked up a game high 15 points as well. Lewis also put up a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.

• Hawes was among the team leaders in multiple categories with five points, seven rebounds, a pair of assists, and three steals.

• Averett entered the contest among the conference leaders in offensive rebound per game and grabbed 23 offensive rebounds leading to 18 second chance points.

• The contest featured 11 lead changes with neither team leading by more than eight.

Up Next
Bridgewater resumes its four game homestand as Lynchburg makes the trip to the valley on Saturday, tip off is set for 4:30 p.m.

— BC Athletics —