BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater men's basketball team survived a strong second half effort from Wilson to take down the Phoenix on Thursday night.
 
The Basics
 
Final Score: Bridgewater 77, Wilson 65
Records: Bridgewater 5-5, Wilson 6-5
 
How It Happened

• The Eagles opened the contest as Andy Pack knocked down a mid-range jumper to put BC on the board first. Bridgewater opened the game on a 7-1 run as Alec Topper nailed a three-pointer and Shod Smith laid it in to complete the stretch. Wilson tried to slow the run with a made three-pointer of its own, but Bridgewater responded with 12 unanswered during a two-minute stretch to take a 19-4 advantage five minutes in.
• Each team would trade short runs with Bridgewater taking its largest lead of the contest to that point at 35-16 after Connor Ballou nailed a jumper from beyond the arc. The Eagles pushed the advantage to 20 with 2:33 left in the frame a Landon Hawes knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to make it 45-25. The Phoenix closed the half on a 7-2 run knocking down five free throws during the stretch to close the BC lead to 47-34 at the intermission.
• Smith opened the half with a made jump shot, but Wilson struck back as Antonio Bussey knocked down a two. The teams traded baskets for the opening two minutes before the Phoenix went on an 18-2 run capped off by a Darryl Garib three-pointer to make it a 59-58 game with nine minutes remaining.
• Hawes stopped the run making the first Bridgewater field goal in over five minutes of play. Wilson responded with a long ball of its own to get the advantage back to just a single point. The Eagles stretched the lead back out to three on an interesting basket. Pack went to pass the ball to Cooper Hawk, but the pass was deflected and then hit off Hawk's face and wound up in the basket.
• After the score Bridgewater did not look back finishing the contest on a 15-4 run led by seven more from Smith to secure the win.

Match Notes

• Smith led all scorers with 22 points. The sophomore added eight assists, five steals and two rebounds in the win.
• Pack and Hawes registered 11 points each. Pack added three rebounds and three assists while Hawes grabbed a game high eight rebounds and added a block.
• Garib and Gary Robertson each scored a team high 15 for the Phoenix.
• Bridgewater made more field goals shooting 28/59 compared to 21/44 for Wilson as the Phoenix held a slight 0.2% advantage in shooting percentage from the field.
• The Eagles picked up their third win on a row for the largest streak for the squad this season.

Up Next
 
BC has a quick turnaround as it hosts St. Mary's tomorrow, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m.