BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- Ronnie Thomas (Roanoke/Patrick Henry) scored six points in an early 8-0 run that gave the host Bridgewater College Eagles the lead against No. 15 Virginia Wesleyan College and the visiting Marlins never caught up.

Bridgewater produced key scores to remain in front of the Marlins the rest of the way and pinned a 78-65 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) loss on VWC at Nininger Hall Wednesday.  It marked Bridgewater's first win over Virginia Wesleyan since a 71-66 decision on Feb. 4, 2009. It was also the second big conference win of the 2013-14 season for the Eagles, who defeated Hampeden-Sydney College 65-57 on Dec. 7.

Bridgewater (7-4, 2-1) hiton 51.7% from the field to help stay in front of the Marlins (9-3, 2-1), who were hindered by an off-night from the field, connecting on just 41.8%.  VWC launched 21 triples and hit only seven, while Bridgewater hit 5-of-9.

The Eagles led 37-29 at halftime and opened that to a 40-29 lead in the early seconds of the second half when Matthew Hunter (Newport News/Woodside) nailed a triple.  Bridgewater went on to open up a 13 point lead with 12:28 remaining, before Virginia Wesleyan rallied to cut the lead to 60-55 with 6:14 on the clock.  Senior Colby Heard (Virginia Beach/Tallwood) contributed eight points to the scoring surge, which included a triple each from senior Aaron Clark (Chesapeake/Virginia Beach Tallwood) and rookie Khory Moore (Arlington/Wakefield).

But, the host team shook it off and rebuilt its lead, which started with a three-point play by Ed Reddick (Virginia Beach/Kellam). Tavis Stapleton (Carthage, Texas/Carthage) and Thomas kept it going by hitting crucial three-pointers as the Eagles expanded their 60-55 lead to 69-55 with 3:23 on the clock.  Heard scored on another jumper to stop the run for the Marlins, but VWC was unable to produce the scoring it needed down the stretch.

Heard led VWC scoring with 15 points, hitting 5-of-7 field goal attempts.  D.J. Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown) followed with 11 points, and led the Marlins with eight rebounds, and Trent Batson (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) scored 10 points. 

Stapleton guided Bridgewater with 19 points and 13 rebounds. He hit 8-of-11 field goal attempts, including 3-of-4 triples. Thomas added 14 points, Reddick scored 13, and Aaron Adams chipped in with 10.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Saturday, Jan. 11, hosting Randolph College's WildCats (8-4, 2-1) in ODAC play at 2 p.m. 

--AMDG--