DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Taylor (Ind.) University used a late run in the first half to open up a 13-point lead and the Trojans went on to defeat Bridgewater College, 71-50, Monday at the Daytona Beach Shootout.

The Eagles stayed with Taylor, the No. 19 ranked team in the NAIA Division II Top 25, for most of the first half. The Eagles trailed by just one, 17-16, when Tavis Stapleton hit a jumper with 5:40 left in the opening half.

Tommy Feller knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as the Trojans outscored the Eagles, 16-4, over the final five minutes of the half to take a 33-20 lead at the break.

The lead hovered around a 10-point margin for the first 10 minutes of the second half. A jumper by Kenneth Waugh pulled the Eagles to within 11 points, 53-42, with 9:32 left in the game, but a 7-0 spurt by Taylor pushed the lead up to 18.

David Larson was the only BC player in double figures as he scored 11 points. Benaiah Wise scored nine points and Ed Reddick added eight.

Casey Koons led Taylor with 18 points. Koons ranks seventh in the nation in NAIA Division II scoring with a 21.8 average.

"Taylor is a very good basketball team," Bridgewater head coach Don Burgess said. "We played with them for awhile, but we just couldn't hit enough shots in the second half."

The Eagles will play their final game of 2011 on Tuesday when they meet North Central (Ill.) at 8:00 p.m.