BRIDGEWATER, VA--For the second consecutive season, the Roanoke College men's basketball team left Bridgewater, VA with an overtime win over the Eagles of Bridgewater College, this time an 82-80 win on Wednesday evening. The Maroons, who won last season's game in Bridgewater, VA 107-99 in overtime, improve to 12-8 on the year and 9-4 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Eagles, who have lost nine of the past 10 meetings with the Maroons, fall to 12-8 on the season and 6-7 in league play.
Tied at 71 with just seconds to play, the Maroons took a 73-71 lead on a Joe Milton (Shawsville, VA/Shawsville) shot with just over three seconds to play. The Eagles came back with a jumper from freshman Clay Michaels with just 0.2 seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime. In the overtime period, Bridgewater's Ricky Easterling and Ashby Tarkington staked the Eagles to a 77-73 lead. The Maroons came back to take a 78-77 lead on a three-pointer from Josh Foster (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Valley Christian) and a layup from Drew Crowder (Radford, VA/Radford). Tarkington tied the score at 78 with a free throw, but Bryan Fasnacht (Salem, VA/Glenvar) hit another of Roanoke's 12 three-pointers in the contest to take an 81-80 lead. Robby Pridgen (Akron, PH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) hit a free throw with 12 seconds to play to make the score 82-80.
A tightly contested game saw neither team grab more than a five-point lead in the first half. Milton made a jumper with 10:49 to play in the first half to give Roanoke a 17-12 lead, its largest of the first 20 minutes. The Eagles closed out the frame on a 7-2 run to take a 39-36 lead into the break. The Maroons came out strong in the second half, using an 18-6 run to take a 54-45 lead with 13:06 to play. The game was tied at 45 with 15:38 to go, but the Maroons went on a 9-0 run, sparked by two three from Crowder, to take the lead. Bridgewater came back, however, with a 10-0 run to take a one-point lead with 6:36 to go. Throughout the remaining minutes of regulation, the largest lead for either team was three and the game was tied six times. In all, both teams had the same score on the scoreboard 18 times in the game.
Pridgen finished with 16 points for the Maroons, but shot just 5-for-17 from the field. Foster added 15 points and five rebounds, while Crowder finished with a career-high 14 points. Milton played a career-best 23 minutes and also scored a career-high eight points. Nate Stewart (Christiansburg, VA/Auburn) grabbed 10 rebounds and also had nine points.
Easterling had a career-high 31 points for the Eagles, while Michaels had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Tarkington also had 12 points for the hosts.
The Maroons host Lynchburg College at 3:00pm on Saturday afternoon in Salem.
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