ELON, N.C. – The Bridgewater College men's basketball team competed in an exhibition against Elon on Friday night.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Elon 104, Bridgewater 70
Records: Bridgewater 9-2, Elon 6-5

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Phoenix got on the board in their first trip down the floor, but BC quickly responded as Oates knocked down a pair at the charity stripe. Elon scored right away to take the lead back, but Woody Machado knocked down a three pointer to give the Eagles a 5-4 lead. Machado struck again on a second-chance effort to put the Eagles in front 7-4 under two minutes in. The teams traded makes before an and-one layup from Elon tied things up at 9-9. Elon forced a turnover and quickly went the other way, but Steve Burgess nailed a long-range jumper to push BC back in front nearing the first media timeout. The home side made a quick 5-0 run to push the lead out to four before Oates drove down the lane to cut it in half at 16-14.
• The high-powered Elon offense went to work after the Oates make with a 12-0 run to put the home side in front 28-14. Another long-range jumper from Burgess got the Eagles back on the board, but Elon responded with five quick points before an Oates bucket sparked the BC attack. The Phoenix extended the lead back out to 16 before three-point makes from Topper and Oates got it down to 37-25 with under nine to go in the half. Elon went on a short six point burst before a fast break bucket by Joran Cooper and two massive three-point makes by Machado got BC to within 10. A 13-point Elon run washed away what had been a fantastic stretch for Bridgewater. Landon Hawes pulled up in the paint at the buzzer to make it 66-37 at the half after a 29-12 run for the home side to end the opening frame.
• Elon got on the board first in the second half before Oates made a pair at the charity stripe for the Eagles. The home side continued to slowly stretch the lead out to as much as 33 before two free throws from Topper and a Mason Ramey bucket got the gap to under 30. The teams traded buckets but slowly Elon mixed in a few from long-range to push the advantage out to 35 before Ramey struck again on a second-chance bucket. Elon got the lead out to 40 before three-point makes from Hawes and Burgess stifled the momentum with Elon in front 92-56.
• Hawes went to work for Bridgewater down the stretch with makes on consecutive trips for the Eagles, but Elon responded with makes of their own to cross the century mark. The Eagles were able to get a short-lived 7-2 run over the final three minutes as Keiman Dillon, RK Law and Will Dunlap all got in on the action.

MATCH NOTES

• Oates led BC offensively with 13 points. Machado and Burgess each added 11 while Ramey and Hawes accounted for nine points each.
• Nick Dorn led Elon with 25 points including five makes from long range. In total the Phoenix drained 10 three pointers at a 58.8% clip.
• Bridgewater was out rebounded 39-26 as Sam Sherry led Elon with seven boards. Oates grabbed a team-high six while Joseph Crenshaw and Mason Ramey each added three.
• BC was able to defeat Elon in two categories. The Eagles knocked down 11 three pointers and drained nine shots at the free throw line compared to 10 from beyond the arc and just four at the stripe for Elon.

UP NEXT
Bridgewater returns home for a Monday matinee with Mary Washington at 5 p.m. in Nininger Hall.