College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 69, Bridgewater 60

BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Matt McCarthy scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to rally Guilford College to a 69-60 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball win at Bridgewater College Saturday afternoon.

The win snapped the Quakers’ (10-3, 4-0 ODAC) three-game losing skid and maintained their unbeaten league record. Bridgewater (7-5, 2-2 ODAC) was coming off a big road win over nationally ranked league foe Virginia Wesleyan College Wednesday night.

The Eagles took advantage of 10 first-half turnovers to grab a 30-26 halftime lead. Zach Hunter’s three-pointer with 15:21 remaining gave the hosts a 43-37 edge, but the Quakers rallied with an 11-0 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes. McCarthy scored the spurt’s final nine points, including a three-pointer with 12:21 that opened a 46-43 Guilford lead.

Bridgewater regained a 49-48 lead on Kyle Welty’s basket with 8:56 left, but Robbie Stokely’s basket at the other end gave Guilford the lead for good. After a defensive stop, McCarthy drained his third of five three-pointers to open a four-point Quakers’ margin with 7:38 left. David Larson’s dunk with 6:30 left brought Bridgewater to within one, but McCarthy canned another three 40 seconds later. The Eagles drew no closer than two points the rest of the way and made only one of shots in the final three minutes.

McCarthy’s team-leading fifth 20-point game of the season included five-of-nine shooting from three-point range. Sophomore Zeb Richardson (West Jefferson, N.C./Ashe County) scored 15 points and grabbed 10 boards for his third double-double in five games. Senior Jake Hopkins (Kernersville, N.C./East Forsyth) notched his team-leading fifth double-double with 11 points and a game-best 14 rebounds.

Hunter, Tavis Stapleton and Ed Reddick scored 12 points apiece for the Eagles. Stapleton, Reddick and Daniel McClain grabbed seven rebounds apiece. Bridgewater managed just five-for-25 shooting from three-point range.

Guilford entertains Emory & Henry College Wednesday (1/15) at 7:00 p.m.

Guilford vs Bridgewater
01/11/14 2:00 p.m. at Bridgewater, VA – Nininger Hall
At Bridgewater, VA – Nininger Hall

GUILFORD – 69
BRIDGEWATER – 60

GUILFORD (10-3 4-0 ODAC): McCARTHY, Matt 6-13 3-5 20; RICHARDSON, Zeb 4-8 7-9 15; HOPKINS, Jake 5-9 1-2 11; FURR, Alston 3-6 2-3 9; HYATT, Trever 2-6 3-3 8; STOKELY, Robbie 2-2 0-1 4; HOUSTON, Zachary 1-1 0-0 2; HORTON, Austin 0-1 0-0 0; GREENE, Cole 0-1 0-0 0; BYRD, Michael 0-0 0-0 0; KOPPENHAVER, Will 0-1 0-0 0; SPAINHOUR, Josh 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-51 16-23 69.

BRIDGEWATER (7-5, 2-2 ODAC): HUNTER, Zach 4-7 2-2 12; STAPLETON, Tavis 5-18 2-3 12; REDDICK, Ed 4-7 4-8 12; THOMAS, Ronnie 2-10 2-2 8; WAUGH, Kenneth 1-4 1-2 4; MCCLAIN, Daniel 2-2 0-0 4; LARSON, David 2-3 0-0 4; WELTY, Kyle 2-5 0-0 4; POWELL, Romie 0-1 0-0 0; WALTON, Zach 0-0 0-0 0; ADAMS, Aaron 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 11-17 60.

   Guilford......................   26   43  -   69
   Bridgewater...................   30   30  -   60

3-point goals–Guilford 7-18 (McCARTHY, Matt 5-9; HYATT, Trever 1-4; FURR, Alston 1-3; HORTON, Austin 0-1; SPAINHOUR, Josh 0-1), Bridgewater 5-25 (THOMAS, Ronnie 2-6; HUNTER, Zach 2-3; WAUGH, Kenneth 1-4; WELTY, Kyle 0-3; ADAMS, Aaron 0-2; STAPLETON, Tavis 0-7).
Fouled out–Guilford-None, Bridgewater-None.
Rebounds–Guilford 41 (HOPKINS, Jake 14), Bridgewater 35 (MCCLAIN, Daniel 7; REDDICK, Ed 7; STAPLETON, Tavis 7).
Assists–Guilford 9 (FURR, Alston 3), Bridgewater 10 (THOMAS, Ronnie 4).
Total fouls–Guilford 15, Bridgewater 18.
Technical fouls–Guilford-None, Bridgewater-ADAMS, Aaron.
A-565

Old Dominion Athletic Conference game