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Game 1 Boxscore
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EMU Video Broadcast
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Live Stats
ODAC Tournament Website
When Bridgewater College meets Eastern Mennonite tonight in the opening round of tonight's ODAC basketball tournament two teams with a lot in common will be squaring off.
Both teams are young and both are talented. At times this season, both have shown flashes of being a very good basketball team. At times, both have struggled.
Tonight's game, set for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at EMU's Yoder Arena, will not only extend the season for one team, but it could be a springboard for better things to come next season.
The Eagles have been decimated by injuries this season, losing five significant contributors for long stretches.
The injuries started in the preseason when Tavis Stapleton injured a finger and missed the first seven games of the year.
In the eighth game of the season, the Eagles lost starting big man Daniel McClain for the season with a knee injury.
McClain's injury elevated David Larson into a starting role, but not he is also on the shelf for the season.
Starting center Romie Powell missed seven games and starting guard Cody Griffith has missed 10 games with an ankle injury. Griffith came back for senior day and scored 21 points but his availability for tonight's game will be a game-time decision.
There has been an upside as several young players have stepped forward and proven they have the ability to play with the best in the ODAC.
Sophomore Ronnie Thomas has emerged as one of the top all-around young players in the ODAC. He ranks in the Top 25 in four categories and recorded the only triple-double in the conference when he scored 17 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and dished out 10 assists at Lynchburg. For the season he ranks 25th in the conference in scoring (10.6 ppg), 16th in rebounding (5.3 per game), third in assists (4.0 per game) and seventh in steals (2.0 per game).
First-year players Aaron Adams and Ed Reddick rank among the best freshmen in the ODAC. Adams is averaging 10.4 points per game (10.8 against ODAC foes) while Reddick is averaging 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Reddick also ranks second in the ODAC in field goal percentage as he makes 60.8 percent of his shots.
Stapleton, a sophomore guard, has also been playing well down the stretch as he averaged 9.0 per game during the final eight games of the regular season.
Bridgewater and EMU split the two regular season games with each time winning away from home.
At Nininger Hall, the Eagles led by five at halftime, but EMU outscored BC 53-18 in the second half to win going away, 80-49. The Royals made 60 percent of its shots in the second half while the Eagles shot just 23.3 percent.
At Yoder Arena, Thomas knocked down a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left to lift the Eagles to a 79-77 win. Bridgewater used a balanced scoring attack, led by Kenneth Waugh's 15 points, to turn back the Royals. Thomas added 14 points followed by Adams with 13, Stapleton with 12 and Reddick with nine.
The Royals have displayed a balanced scoring attack throughout the season led by Andrew Thorne with 12.2 points per game and R.J. Sims with 11.8 per game. Four more Royals average between six and 10 points per contest.
Tonight's game can be heard live on 96.1 FM with Bill Phipps handling the play-by-play.
