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BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Bridgewater College freshmen Jesse Case and Trenton Ray combined for 41 points and junior Cameron Thurston added a double-double as the Eagles defeated Lynchburg College, 81-73, in ODAC basketball action Saturday afternoon at Nininger Hall.

Saturday's contest was the second overtime game in a row for the Eagles and was a nice bounce back following a non-conference loss early in the week at Southern Virginia.

"We really competed today, especially in the second half and overtime," said Eagles first-year head coach Shawn Postiglione. "We had all five guys on the court playing together and competing and that's why we got results."

Lynchburg (3-2, 0-1 in the ODAC) led for most of the first half, but the Hornets were unable to separate from the Eagles in the first 20 minutes.

The Hornets, picked No. 2 in the ODAC preseason poll, pushed the lead to double digits for the first time when a 3-pointer by Bobby Ford and two foul shots by Alex Graves made the score 24-14 with 6:56 left in the opening half.  

Three more times in the first half, Lynchburg hit shots to lead by 10 points, but each time the Eagles answered to maintain a workable margin. Two free throws by Graves gave Lynchburg its final lead of 10 points, 31-21 with 1:18 left, but the Eagles responded with a 3-pointer by Ray to pull to within seven. Daniel Rowe scored from inside with 15 seconds left to send the Hornets to the locker room with a 33-24 halftime lead.

AJ Hamilton opened the second half scoring with a jumper to give the visitors their biggest lead of the game, 35-24. Case then knocked down a 3-pointer before Lynchburg's Zack Burnett hit two free throws for a 37-27 lead with 18:49 left in the game.

Bridgewater (2-3, 1-0 in the ODAC) then hit the Hornets with a 10-0 spurt to tie the score. Case and Ray connected on 3-pointers and Kevin Saylor scored on a driving layup to pull the Eagles to within two. Following an empty offensive trip by the Hornets, Eagles big man Norman Barnes worked the paint for a bucket to tie the score at 37-37 with 15:34 remaining.

Two free throws by Lynchburg's Graves were offset by Thurston's jumper as the score remained tied. After two free throws by Lynchburg's Sammy Hooper, Ray connected from beyond the arc, giving Bridgewater its first lead of the second half, 42-41, with 12:07 left.

The Hornets regained the lead on an inside bucket by Omar Kemp, but a 3-pointer by Keonte Dennis put the Eagles back on top 45-43. Hooper tied the score with a jumper before Case hit from bonus range to give the Eagles a 48-45 edge with 11:12 left.

Two foul shots by Romello Crowell gave the Eagles a five-point lead, 55-50, with 7:19 remaining, but the Hornets stormed back with an 11-1 run to lead by five with 4:20 left to play. Graves ignited the run with five points and Burnett capped the flurry with a 3-pointer, giving the Hornets a 61-56 advantage.

A 3-pointer by Thurston pulled the Eagles to within two, but the Hornets maintained the lead until the two-minute mark. Trailing by three points, 64-61, Ray and Efe Balfour connected on consecutive buckets to put the Eagles on top by one, 65-64, with 1:09 left.

Kemp was fouled on Lynchburg's next possession and hit the second of two free throws to tie the score with 48 seconds remaining.

The Eagles then turned the ball over with 28 seconds left, giving Lynchburg the opportunity to hold the ball for the final shot. The Hornets, however, turned the ball over with six seconds remaining, giving Bridgewater one last chance to win in regulation. Crowell drove the baseline and dished to Balfour, but his shot at the rim was blocked by Graves just before the buzzer to send the game to overtime.

The Eagles struck first in OT on a jumper by Case, but two free throws by Graves knotted the score at 67-67. A driving layup by Ray gave the Eagles a two-point lead and, following a missed shot by the Hornets, Case was fouled and hit 1-of-2 from the line, pushing the Bridgewater lead to 70-67 lead with 2:16 left.

The Hornets turned the ball over on their next possession and another inside bucket from Ray put the Eagles up five, 72-67, with 1:35 left in overtime.

Lynchburg cut the margin to four, 72-68, on a foul shot by Hamilton with 58 seconds left, but the Hornets would get no closer down the stretch.

The Eagles, who struggled mightily from the foul line in the first 44 minutes of play, hit 9-of-10 foul shots in the final 60 seconds to clinch the victory. Until the final minute, Bridgewater made just 12-of-30 foul shots.

Despite their cold shooting from the foul line, the Eagles connected on 42.1 percent of its field goal attempts, including 50 percent in the second half and overtime. Bridgewater was red-hot from beyond the arc where the Eagle made 12-of-24 shots.

Case poured in a career-high 22 points while Ray hit double figures for the first time in his career with 19. Case hit 5-of-7 from 3-point range while Ray knocked down 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Thurston posted the first double-double of his career with 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.

Graves, who entered the contest averaging a double-double, led the Hornets with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Burnett scored 12 points and Jay Allen added 10.

"We did a good job of running our stuff at the offensive end," said Postiglione. "We executed and shared the basketball. Romello and Jesse combined for 12 assists and just three turnovers."

Bridgewater also won the battle on the boards, an area where the Eagles had struggled during earlier games. The Eagles outrebounded Lynchburg by a 48-42 margin. "To win the rebounding battle was huge. We took pride in our rebounding today and the guys really competed on the boards," said Postiglione.

Bridgewater has a quick turnaround as the Eagles are back in action Monday evening when they travel to Greensboro College for a non-conference contest. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.