WINCHESTER, Va. – The Bridgewater College Eagles executed down the stretch Wednesday evening to put away Shenandoah University 76-67 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference men's basketball action.

Bridgewater (9-7, 4-3 in the ODAC) led most of the way, but never by more than seven points until the final minute of play.

The Eagles used a 7-0 spurt to take an early 9-3 lead. Zach Hunter knocked down a 3-pointer to put Bridgewater on top by a score of 5-3. Keonte Dennis hit from 15 feet out and Benaiah Wise drove past his defender and scored on a layup for a six-point Bridgewater lead.

The Hornets stayed close and a breakaway dunk by Malcolm Clark gave the hosts a one-point 19-18 lead.

Bridgewater answered with a 10-2 spurt to take its biggest lead of the first half. A layup by Kyle Welty put the Eagles on top by one and Ed Reddick took a dish from Matthew Hunter and scored from in close, pushing the margin to three. After two foul shots by Shenandoah's Nik Stewart, the Eagles scored on three straight possessions. Reddick stroked a 15-footer and Welty added a layup in traffic. Wise capped the spurt with a mid-range jumper, giving the Eagles a 27-20 advantage with 4:12 left in the first half.

The Hornets trimmed the deficit back to three before two buckets from Aaron Adams once again put the Eagles' lead at seven, 31-24. Clark scored five straight points to pull the Hornets to within two, but Adams hit two foul shots with 16 seconds left to send the Eagles to the break with a 33-29 lead.

A 3-ball by Jimi Starks pulled Shenandoah even early in the second half, 33-33, but Bridgewater regained the lead on its next trip to the offensive end when Reddick scored after grabbing an offensive rebound, making the score 35-33.

Bridgewater managed to maintain the lead for the next eight minutes with the margin fluctuating between one and six points. The Eagles were on top 54-49 before a three-point play by Xavier Alston and two free throws by Clark tied the score at 54-54 with 9:23 left in the game.

The Eagles countered Clark's free throws with two from Cameron Thurston and Bridgewater led the rest of the way.

A free throw by Alston pulled the Hornets to within one, but Reddick distributed out of a double team, finding Wise open in the right corner. The Eagles senior guard knocked down the 3-point shot for a 59-55 lead. Alston made 1-of-2 at the foul line before Dennis worked the paint and converted a three-point play stretching the Eagles' lead to six , 61-55, with 5:38 left in the game.

A 3-pointer by Shenandoah's Antwan Pittman trimmed the Eagles margin in half with 5:09 left, but the Eagles scored the next six points to put the game away.

After the teams traded empty trips to the offensive end, Zach Hunter drove to the basket and converted a three-point play, once again putting the Bridgewater lead at six, 65-59, with 3:45 remaining.

Bridgewater failed to score on its next four possessions, but its defense held strong and kept the Hornets scoreless to maintain the six-point lead. Zach Hunter gave the Eagles the breathing room they needed when he stole the ball at midcourt and drove to the hole where he converted another three-point play, making the score 68-59 with just 51 seconds left..

Reddick led the Eagles with a double-double effort, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds. He also contributed six assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Dennis reached double figures for the first time in his career with 13 points. Zach Hunter scored 11 points, eight of those in the final four minutes. Adams and Wise each finished with 10 points.

The Eagles bench came up huge with a total of 40 points and three double figure scorers – Zach Hunter, Dennis and Wise.

Clark paced the Hornets with 17 points. Stewart and Alston both finished the game with 12 points.

Bridgewater returns to action Saturday afternoon when the team travels to Salem, Va., to play Roanoke College. Game time is 3:30 p.m.