BRIDGEWATER, Va. - Bridgewater junior guard Zach Hunter swished a 3-pointer from the left corner with just three seconds left in the game to lift the Eagles to a thrilling 76-75 Old Dominion Athletic Conference men's basketball victory over Hampden-Sydney at Nininger Hall.

With Saturday's victory, Bridgewater improved to 8-5 overall and 3-1 in the conference while handing the Tigers their first loss in ODAC play. Hampden-Sydney is now 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference.

The game-winning shot was the second this season for Hunter. The Eagles guard knocked down a 15-footer with less than a second left in Bridgewater's two-point victory earlier this season at Washington and Lee.

The game was close throughout. Bridgewater led by as many as seven in the first half while the Tigers' largest lead was 10 points early in the second half.

The Eagles trailed early by a point, 14-13, but a bucket by Kyle Welty and a 3-pointer by Zach Hunter put Bridgewater on top 18-14. The Tigers' Mitch Owens and the Eagles' Benaiah Wise traded 3-pointers before a baseline jumper by Aaron Adams pushed the BC lead to 23-17.

Two free throws by Ed Reddick pushed the lead to eight before a 3-pointer by Greg Lewis pulled the Tigers to within five, 25-20.

Ethan Adams came off the Eagles bench and scored inside for a 27-20 lead. Two free throws by the Tigers' Mike Murray were offset by another Ethan Adams bucket as the Eagles maintained a seven-point lead, 29-22, with five minutes left in the half.

Hampden-Sydney erased that deficit with a 12-0 run as the Eagles failed to score in the final five minutes of the half. Lewis hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds left, sending the Tigers to the locker room with a 34-29 halftime lead.

The Tigers carried the momentum into the second half, building the lead to double digits in the first three minutes. Two foul shots by Murray gave H-SC a 42-32 lead with 17:16 left in the game.

Bridgewater wiped out that deficit with a 12-2 run to tie the score. Ed Reddick scored twice from in close and Welty added a three-point play, making the score 42-39. Reddick then scored again to pull the Eagles to within one, 42-41. Murray scored on a driving layup before Reddick converted a three-point play to tie the game at 44-44 with 14:22 left.

A three-point play by Aaron Adams and a layup by Matthew Hunter put the Eagles back on top, 51-46, with 12:42 left. Keonte Dennis made two free throws to push the lead to seven before two free throws by Owens trimmed the margin back to five, 53-48.

Logan Seacrist converted a pair of layups to keep the Eagles out front, but the Tigers battled back and eventually regained the lead, 59-57 on a layup by Murray with 8:56 left.

Owens scored from beyond the arc for a five-point Tigers' lead, but the Eagles stayed close as Welty made two free throws. Owens added two foul shots for the Tigers, but buckets by Reddick and Welty pulled the Eagles to within one, 64-63, with 5:48 left.

The Tigers' lead remained in the three- to five-point range until buckets by Welty and Reddick tied the score at 69-all with 2:26 left.

Hampden-Sydney, however, quickly regained the upper hand when Lewis drained a 3-pointer for a 72-69 Tigers lead with 1:25 left.

Aaron Adams made two foul shots to pull the Eagles back to within one, but two free throws by Murray gave the Tigers a three-point edge, 74-71, with 32 seconds left.

Welty had a chance to tie the score as he was fouled while scoring on a driving layup with 21 seconds left. Welty missed the three but Aaron Adams grabbed the offensive reobund for the Eagles. Adams, however, missed two shots from in close and the Tigers' Jake Duncan pulled down the rebound and was fouled with 15 seconds left. Duncan missed the first foul shot, but made the second for a 75-73 Hampden-Sydney lead with 14 ticks left on the clock.

The Eagles moved the ball into the frontcourt and Zach Hunter passed the ball to Reddick in the corner. Reddick passed the ball back out to the left wing to Matt Hunter and then set a screen along the baseline. Zach Hunter curled around the screen and received the pass from his brother for the game-winning three-pointer.

Welty poured in a career-high 21 points to lead the Eagles' scoring effort. Reddick added 20 points and Aaron Adams finished with 11.

Tigers' point guard Murray led all scorers with 25 points. Lewis scored 13, followed by Leon Hargrove with 11 and Owens with 10.

Hampden-Sydney held a slim 31-29 advantage on the boards. Hargrove, Owens, Murray and Guilherme Guimaraes each finished with five rebounds. Zach Hunter chased down seven rebounds to lead Bridgewater.

Bridgewater hit exactly 50 percent of its shots, going 27-for-54 from the floor. The Tigers were nearly as good, making 24-of-49 shots for 49 percent. Hampden-Sydney lit it up from beyond the arc, making 10-of-18 shots for 55.6 percent. Bridgewater had its best effort of the season at the foul line, knocking down 17-of-21 free throws for 81 percent.

The Eagles are back in action Wednesday evening when they travel to play rival Eastern Mennonite. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.