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Starts Leads Bridgewater to Upset of Guilford
Seventh Seeded Eagles Move on to Semis
February 22, 2007
Box Score
SALEM, Va. --- Bridgewater College turned up the intensity
to true postseason levels in the third quarterfinal game of
the 2007 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Basketball
Championship tournament, upsetting the second-seeded and
nationally 17th ranked Guilford College 88-78.
The Eagles, 10-16 on the season, move on to face the winner
of Randolph-Macon College and Roanoke College in the second
men’s semifinal on Saturday afternoon. The Quakers fall to
21-4 overall and must rely on the chance of an at-large bid
to continue their season.
The
three-point shot proved to be the difference for the Eagles
as they hit 12 in the contest, shooting 50-percent from
beyond the arc. Eight of those makes came in the first
half. One such deep jumper game the Eagles their largest
lead of the game at 45-19 with 0:43 seconds to play in the
opening period.
Guilford
made a strong run in the latter portions of the second half,
pulling to within six points at 66-60 with 5:03 to play.
Bridgewater maintained its composure, pushing its lead back
out to 12 points twice before the final horn sounded.
“More than
the triangle-and-2 an the zone, I think the key was that we,
in the first half, passed the ball,” explained Bridgewater
head coach Bill Leatherman. “Then we withstood their
rally.”
Sophomore
Michael Oblitey led the Eagles 50.0-percent shooting
performance with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting including
4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Fellow third year men Josh Fox
and Andrew Cathlin added 14 and 12 points, respectively,
while freshman D.J. Billups chipped in with 13 points.
Junior
Caleb Kimbrough led the Quakers with a career-high 20
points. Ben Strong, the ODAC Player of the Year, was held
nine points below his season average, putting up 15 markers
to go with 12 rebounds. Freshmen Justin Strickland and Clay
Henson added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The second
men’s semifinal is set for Saturday, February 24, at 3:00
p.m. in the Salem Civic Center.
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