ASHLAND, Va. -- The Bridgewater College men's basketball team fell to the No. 2 team in the country, Randolph-Macon, 62-41, in Crenshaw Gym on Wednesday night.

THE BASICS
Final Score: No. 2 Randolph-Macon 62, Bridgewater 41
Records: Bridgewater 8-8, 3-4 ODAC; Randolph-Macon 16-1, 8-0 ODAC

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Yellow Jackets started the game on a 7-1 run that extended over the first four minutes of play. Shod Smith made a layup and Landon Hawes drilled a three-pointer to cut into the deficit, but R-MC held onto an 11-6 lead going into the under-14 media timeout. The two sides exchanged scores as Alec Topper made back-to-back treys to make it a three-point game at 15-12 with 10:53 left in the first half and the defending national champions kept up the pressure working the lead back up to 10 points within two minutes. The Eagles battled back once again cutting into the lead to within three at 22-19 with 6:18 on the clock after a Smith jumper.
• Each side continued to trade baskets over the final six minutes of the opening half. R-MC pulled ahead by nine after a triple by Will Coble with less than a minute to go, but Connor Ballou got his second basket of the first 20 minutes a few seconds later to send the game into halftime with the Yellow Jackets up 33-26.
• Randolph-Macon started to pull away in the second as it started the half on a 15-5 run across the first nine minutes of play and held the Eagles to just 2-of-11 from the floor during the stretch. Bridgewater responded with an 8-2 run of its own that spanned four minutes with Liam Caswell draining a three and hitting on two free throws to set the score at 50-39 with 6:23 left in the game. In response, Randolph-Macon put together a 12-2 run that ran out the remaining clock on its way to a 62-41 victory.

MATCH FACTS

• Topper led the Eagles with 12 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and second in as many games. He also recorded a steal in 32 minutes of play.
• Hawes finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Caswell registered six points, a block, a steal and a rebound.
• For the Yellow Jackets, Miles Mallory and Josh Talbert each recorded 18 points, while Mallory added 12 boards, four blocks, three assists and a steal. Mallory also tied the ODAC career blocks record in the win.
• Coble tallied nine points and Jabril Robinson led the game with eight assists.

UP NEXT
Bridgewater returns home on Saturday, January 21, for an ODAC contest against Ferrum. Tip is scheduled for 4:30 pm following the conclusion of the women's game against Guilford in Nininger Hall.