BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater College men's basketball team

THE BASICS
Final Score: Bridgewater 85; Ferrum 82
Records: Bridgewater 13-5 (7-4 ODAC); Ferrum 13-7 (4-7 ODAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Ferrum got on the board first before Alec Topper found Woody Machado in the corner for an open three-pointer to put the Eagles in front. The Panthers stepped back on front, but a Topper triple gave the Eagles lead back right away. Aaron Oates drained a long-range jumper and Kahlil Ward threw down a dunk off of an alley-oop from Jordan Cooper to make it 11-4 for BC five minutes in. Cooper got to the lane and laid it in to cap off the 11-0 run before an and-one layup put Ferrum back to within six. Machado and Oates got the Eagles offense on track with back-to-back scores before the Panthers replied. On cue, Landon Hawes drained a three on a dish from Oates to push it to 20-9 for Bridgewater midway through the opening stanza.
• Ferrum responded with a short-lived 4-2 run before Will Dunlap drilled a three-pointer to spark a 10-0 Bridgewater scoring spree to make it 32-13 for BC after another Topper three-ball. FC slowly reeled the Eagles in as they outscored BC 19-8 following the Eagle scoring run. Jikari Johnson accounted for 13 Ferrum points down the stretch in the opening half to make it 40-32 inside of a minute to play. Ward drained a jumped just inside of the horn to make it 42-32 Bridgewater heading to the intermission.
• Oates got BC on the board first in the second half before Ferrum responded with a 9-3 run where the held the Eagles without a field goal for nearly four minutes to make it 47-41 with five minutes gone by in the half. Oates drained another long ball on an assist from Cooper to push the lead out to nine before back-to-back buckets by the Panthers cut more into the advantage. A layup from Topper and aa pair at the line from Hawes helped the Eagles stretch the lead back to nine, but another 9-3 Ferrum scoring spree brought the Panthers back to within a possession at 57-54 with 9:32 to play.
• Again, Oates put the squad on his back with a bucket to end the FC scoring run, but a 4-0 run from the Panthers drew them to within a point. A free throw each from Topper and Oates gave BC a little breathing room, but Tahli Oden gave Ferrum a score to bring the lead back down to one. Oates drained a three-pointer on the opposite end and a two-point basket from Ferrum made it a 64-62 BC edge. Each side swapped runs and makes with the lead hovering around the three-point mark down the stretch before an Oden jumper tied the game with 25 seconds left in regulation at 75-75. Ward got a look on the offensive end for BC late in the clock and Machado scrapped for the offensive rebound. His second chance effort rolled around the rim for what seemed like an eternity and rolled off and to the floor as time expired to send the game to the extra period.
• Ferrum took the lead to start overtime after two free throws by Oden. Topper clawed his way to an offensive board on the other end and put it back to even the game. Another second-chance bucket gave BC the lead as Oates pulled down the board and made a hook shot a few seconds later. With time dwindling down the defenses dug in. BC got a stop and Oates was fouled trying to grab the rebound. The Senior drained both shots at the line to make a four-point game with 1:12 on the clock. Oden made a jumper to bring Ferrum back to within a possession and BC went to work the other way. Machado was fouled on a put back attempt sending him to the line with both sides in the double bonus. Machado drained both attempts, but Ferrum did not waiver. Late in the shot clock, Zavier Measmer drilled a corner-three to make it 83-2 with nine seconds showing on the clock. B got the inbound in to Cooper and the freshman drained both. The Panthers had a chance at a deep three-pointer as time expired, but it was wildly off target.

MATCH NOTES

• The Eagles got massive contributions from their starting five as all scored nine of more points led by Oates with 26 including four three-pointers.
• Oden and Johnson led Ferrum with 28 and 22 points each in the comeback effort that fell just short.
• The Eagles held Ferrum to 15.0% from long range. Entering the game, the Eagles ranked second in the ODAC in long-range defense.
• Oates and Topper cleaned up the glass for the Eagles with nine and eight boards respectively despite getting out-rebounded 42-36 as a team.

UP NEXT
Bridgewater stays home for a clash with No. 10 Randolph-Macon on Wednesday night at 5 p.m.