College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 64, Bridgewater 48 w/Photos

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Carson Long scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the second half of Guilford College’s 64-48 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men’ basketball win over visiting Bridgewater College Saturday.

The comeback victory extended Guilford’s winning streak to eight, the program’s longest since 2013-14. The Quakers’ overcame a 13-point first-half deficit for their 11th win in 12 games. Guilford’s 13-2 start matches the program’s best since 2012-13.

Guilford (13-2, 6-0 ODAC) held the Eagles (5-10, 2-4 ODAC) without a field goal for over 13 minutes during a 20-1 run over the middle of the game. Long had eight points during the spurt, which erased a 13-point first-half deficit. Jesse Case’s free throw with seven minutes left before halftime opened a 24-11 Eagles’ advantage. However, Bridgewater did not score for the remainder of the half, which allowed the Quakers to go on a 10-0 run and pull within 24-21 at the break.

Long and Alston Thompson scored five points apiece as Guilford outscored Bridgewater, 10-1, in the second-half’s first four minutes. Bryce Boggs’ running layup with 15:30 left in regulation ended the Eagles’ field-goal drought and brought Bridgewater to within four points, but the team drew no closer. Guilford’s Long had seven points during an 11-0 spurt that opened an 18-point spread with just under seven minutes left.

Dominique Henderson netted 11 of his 13 points in the second half, which saw the Quakers shoot better than 58 percent from the floor. Thompson finished with nine points, and also had six points and two blocks. Zachary Houston collected three points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jarrod Rogers contributed six points and a game-high five assists.

Kevin Saylor led Bridgewater with 13 points and Boggs finished with 11. Efe Balfour scored three points and led all rebounders with nine.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers visit league-rival Emory & Henry College Wednesday (1/18) at 7:00 p.m.

Box Score follows photos by Andy Gore
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Bridgewater vs Guilford
01/14/17 4:30 pm at Greensboro, NC-Ragan-Brown Field House
At Greensboro, NC-Ragan-Brown Field House

GUILFORD 64
BRIDGEWATER 48

BRIDGEWATER (5-10, 2-4 ODAC)
: Kevin Saylor 5-11 0-0 13; Bryce Boggs 4-7 1-2 11; Zach Kopp 2-5 4-5 8; Jesse Case 2-8 1-2 7; Keonte Dennis 1-3 1-2 4; Efe Balfour 1-2 0-0 3; Davrion Grier 0-2 2-2 2; Essex Thompson 0-1 0-0 0; Tim Dougan 0-0 0-0 0; Kenneth Turner 0-2 0-0 0; Paul Brown 0-1 0-0 0; Hunter Dotson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-42 9-13 48.

GUILFORD (13-2, 6-0 ODAC): LONG, Carson 9-15 1-1 23; HENDERSON, Dominique 4-7 5-7 13; THOMPSON, Alston 4-7 1-1 9; ROGERS, Jarrod 3-5 0-1 6; REYER, Mason 2-6 0-0 4; GORE, Jaylen 2-3 0-0 4; HOUSTON, Zachary 1-4 0-0 3; STEPHENS, PJ 1-4 0-0 2; ROSENBAUM, Chase 0-0 0-0 0; REINEY, Michael 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 7-10 64.

Bridgewater...................   24   24  -   48
Guilford......................   21   43  -   64

3-point goals–Bridgewater 9-22 (Kevin Saylor 3-7; Jesse Case 2-5; Bryce Boggs 2-2; Efe Balfour 1-2; Keonte Dennis 1-2; Kenneth Turner 0-2; Davrion Grier 0-2), Guilford 5-15 (LONG, Carson 4-8; HOUSTON, Zachary 1-2; REYER, Mason 0-2; STEPHENS, PJ 0-2; HENDERSON, Dominique 0-1).
Fouled out–Bridgewater-None, Guilford-None.
Rebounds–Bridgewater 25 (Efe Balfour 9), Guilford 32 (HOUSTON, Zachary 7).
Assists–Bridgewater 11 (Jesse Case 4), Guilford 13 (ROGERS, Jarrod 5).
Total fouls–Bridgewater 17, Guilford 12.
Technical fouls–Bridgewater-None, Guilford-None.
A-500
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game