EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Men's Basketball Team (4-13, 2-8 ODAC) erased a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Bridgewater College (10-9, 4-6 ODAC), 70-65, Saturday afternoon in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action at Bob Johnson Court.
BC scored the first five points of the game but E&H battled back for a 6-5 lead at the 17:06 mark. The Eagles then went on a 9-0 run which covered 3:33. Down 14-6, the Wasps scored 11 of the next 15 points to close the gap to 18-17 with 7:08 to go before the break. Bridgewater extended its lead back to nine (32-23) with 26 seconds on the clock, but Emory & Henry junior forward Tyler Mullins (Hazard, Ky.) hit a layup with three seconds left to make the halftime score, 32-25.
E&H came out of the locker room with a new resolve. Down by nine, the Wasps hit a trio of three-pointers to tie the contest at 39 at the 15:20 mark. The two teams would trade baskets for the next four minutes, but a layup by senior center Armando Murrell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) gave Emory & Henry the lead for good (45-44) with 11:42 remaining in the game.
The Wasps were able to open up a seven-point lead, thanks in part to holding the Eagles without a field goal for over nine minutes. Bridgewater would get within three points twice in the final 70 seconds, but Emory & Henry held off the rally for its second ODAC win of the year.
E&H, which had five players reach double figures in scoring, was led by Murrell with 17 points and five rebounds while Mullins pitched in 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Junior guard Stephen Brown (Charleston, S.C.) had 12 points, four boards and three steals while freshman guard Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) recorded 11 points. Junior forward Charles Smith (Fayetteville, N.C.) nearly tallied a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds for the Wasps.
As a team, Emory & Henry shot 43.9 percent (25-for-57) for the game and held a 42-37 advantage on the boards, erasing a deficit of eight from the half. The Wasps scored 42 points in the paint and had 20 second-chance points.
Bridgewater was paced by Matthew Hunter's 14-point performance while Zach Hunter had nine points. Daniel McClain had seven points and eight rebounds while Tavis Stapleton chipped in seven points of his own.
The Eagles were just 16-for-50 (32.0 percent) from the field despite shooting 72.1 percent (31-for-43) from the free throw line. Bridgewater got 36 of its 65 points from the bench, but couldn't hang on down the stretch.
Emory & Henry will remain at home on Wednesday evening when it hosts Randolph College at 6:00 p.m., in an ODAC showdown. The contest will be the first of a doubleheader with the women's team.
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