BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- The Bridgewater College men's basketball team took down Virginia Wesleyan 54-52 on Saturday afternoon after Liam Caswell sank the go ahead triple with three seconds to go.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Bridgewater 54, Virginia Wesleyan 52
Records: Bridgewater 10-9, 5-5 ODAC; Virginia Wesleyan 13-6, 5-6 ODAC

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Marlins opened the contest with back-to-back three-point buckets and added a layup to make it 8-0 before a Bridgewater timeout with the contest just barely over three minutes in. After the stoppage, the Eagles got on the board as Shod Smith found Andy Pack open beyond the arc. VWU added a free throw to extend their lead back to six points, but a Landon Hawes step-back jumper sparked a 9-0 BC scoring surge. Cooper Hawk threw down a two-handed jam to tie the game and on the next possession Connor Ballou nailed a three-pointer to put the Eagles in front for the first time.
• Back-to-back buckets for the Marlins gave them the lead back momentarily before a short 7-0 stretch for the home side capped off by another Pack triple to give the Eagles a 19-13 with nine minutes to go in the opening frame. Neither side scored for nearly two minutes until the Marlins ended a 4:17 scoring drought with a layup from Omari Deveaux. The visitors were able to take the lead back after two free throws from Deveaux, but baskets from Will Dunlap and Caswell gave the Eagles a 25-22 advantage heading to the intermission.
• Seconds into the second frame, Alec Topper got in the scoring column to extend the BC lead to five. One of two from the charity stripe from Shod Smith and another Pack triple gave the Eagles a 34-25 lead, the largest of the contest. The Marlins Quickly stopped the momentum for the home side with a quick jumper that started a 13-1 run, giving them a 38-35 lead nearing the midway point of the half. A Landon Hawes old-fashioned three-point play tied the game, but consecutive baskets for VWU stretched the lead back to four points.
• The Marlin lead lasted for two minutes. A layup and a three-pointer from Oates gave the Eagles the lead back and a Pack layup extended the advantage to three points with five minutes to go.  Both teams traded buckets down the stretch but a three-pointer from Deveaux and a layup from Amarion Wilson with 37 seconds left gave the Marlins the lead.  
• Quickly, the Eagles drove the length of the floor. Hawes found Oates streaking to the basket for an easy lay in to give BC a one-point advantage with 23 seconds on the clock. The Marlins responded with a basket of their own as Deveaux scored with 11 seconds remaining, putting VWU back in front. Off the made basket Smith took the inbound and drove the length of the floor. The Sophomore found Caswell open in the corner and the senior drained the go-ahead basket with three seconds to go. Deveaux was able to get a shot off from half court as time expired, but the heave was no good.

MATCH FACTS

• Pack led Bridgewater in scoring with 12 including three makes from long range. Oates was the only other Eagle in double figures with 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
• Deveaux scored a game-high 21 points and Amarion Wilson added 15 for Virginia Wesleyan.
• Ten different Eagles scored in the contest. Caswell added only five points but scored the last bucket of each half on the way to the win.
• BC shot 38.9% from long range compared to just 18.2% for the Marlins despite opening the came with consecutive long balls.
• VWU won the rebounding battle thanks to a 27-20 edge on the defensive glass, but a 22-9 edge for the home side in bench points made the difference.

UP NEXT


The Eagles make the short trip to Eastern Mennonite for a 7 p.m. tilt with the Royals on Wednesday, Feb. 1.