BRIDGEWATER, Va. (BC Athletics) – The Bridgewater College men’s basketball team fell to No. 5 Hampden-Sydney 83-62 on Saturday afternoon.

Records: Bridgewater 8-14 (3-10 ODAC); Hampden-Sydney 19-3 (12-1 ODAC)

How It Happened
• Hampden-Sydney jumped on the board first, but back-to-back scores by Maleek Richardson and Kyren Smith put the Eagles in front. The Tigers evened the game shortly after, but a Smith jumper and a Richardson three-pointer put BC in front by three. The tigers responded but a three-pointer by Steven Burgess Jr stretched the BC lead even farther and an Aaron Oates jam followed to force a HSC timeout just under five minutes in at a 14-8 BC lead.
• The sides swapped three-point makes out of the timeout and the Tigers started to close in. HSC cut the lead to a point at 21-20 after a 9-4 run out of the timeout, but another Richardson deep make put BC in front by four. HSC continued to close in and took the lead on the back end of a four-point swing at 27-25. The Tigers did not lead for long as a 6-0 Bridgewater run capped off by a Steve Burgess jumper gave the Eagles a 31-27 lead with 2:16 to play in the half. HSC replied with a run of its own to the tune of a 7-2 swing capped off by a deep make from Ayman McGowan to give the Tigers a 34-33 lead at the break.
• Hampden-Sydney opened the second half on an 11-0 run and forced four turnovers to take a 45-33 advantage before Smith bucket ended the drought. The teams traded buckets before an Oates three-pointer cut the lead down to seven at 49-42 with 13:30 to play. The gap hovered around the seven-point mark before the Tigers went on another 11-0 run to stretch the lead to 18 at 62-44 with 10:30 to go.
• Jordan Cooper ended the Tigers run and the two sides traded scores before an 8-0 HSC run stretch the lead to 79-53 with 4:34 to play. BC closed back in over the final four minutes and change thanks to seven points from Cooper, but the damage had already been done.

Match Notes
• Cooper led BC with 17 points and three assists. Richardson and Oates each tallied 10 points and five and six rebounds respectively.
• Shane Fernald led HSC with 23 points five rebounds and four steals.
• The game was a tale of two halves. HSC outscored BC 49-29 after the intermission and shot 57.9% from the field over the frame.
Up Next
The Eagles are back in action on Saturday as they head to (RV) Virginia Wesleyan.

—- BC Athletics —