The victory marked Guilford's (13-8, 9-5 ODAC) seventh win in its last eight games and its first sweep of the season series with Bridgewater (12-9, 6-8 ODAC) in school history.
Bridgewater grabbed a 37-36 halftime lead after a tightly contested first half that saw both clubs shoot at least 50 percent from the floor. The Quakers turned up the defense at the start of the second half and used a 9-0 run to grab a 56-45 lead with 11:39 remaining. Senior Josh Connor (Greensboro, NC/Northwest Guilford) scored five of his 10 points (all in the second half) during the Quakers' spurt.
Ricky Easterling (Baltimore, MD/Dundalk) did his very best to keep Bridgewater in the game, scoring 16 of his 25 points in the second half. It seemed every time Easterling and the Eagles scored, Guilford answered with a three-pointer at the other end. The Quakers made seven of 14 trifectas in the second half and shot just under 61 percent overall from the field. For the game, Guilford made a season-high 54.9 percent of its shots from the floor.
Bridgewater hit some late three-pointers of its own and pulled as close as five points at the 3:22 and 1:56 marks. Guilford stifled the rallies by making 10 of 14 free throws in the last two minutes while holding the Eagles to three-pointers by Josh Maupin (Stuarts Draft, VA/Stuarts Draft) and Easterling.
Clarence Martin (Reidsville, NC/Reidsville) and Thomas Swindell (High Point, NC/Southwest Guilford) scored 12 points apiece for the Quakers. Connor and Clarke shared team-high rebounding honors with seven boards apiece.
In addition to his 25 points, Easterling tallied five assists and two rebounds. Senior center Jeff Schwalm (Sterling, VA/Parkview) totalled 12 points, three rebounds, and a game-high eight assists and two blocks. Ryan Lambert (Petersburg, WV/Petersburg) contributed 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Eagles.
Guilford, which posted its first-ever road win over Bridgewater January 18, closes its home schedule Sunday (02/08) afternoon against Eastern Mennonite (4-17, 2-12 ODAC) at 3:00 pm. The Eagles visit Emory & Henry Sunday (02/08) afternoon at 2:00 pm.
Bridgewater vs Guilford 02/07/04 3:00 pm at Greensboro, NC - Ragan-Brown Field House At Greensboro, NC - Ragan-Brown Field House GUILFORD 86, BRIDGEWATER 77 BRIDGEWATER (12-9, 6-8 ODAC) EASTERLING, Ricky 10-19 3-4 25; LAMBERT, Ryan 7-10 2-3 16; SCHWALM, Jeff 4-8 4-6 12; TARKINGTON, Ashby 3-8 0-0 8; MAUPIN, Josh 3-5 0-0 8; MICHAEL, Clay 1-5 2-2 4; FITZGERALD, Matt 1-2 0-0 2; LACEY, Andrew 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-58 13-17 77. GUILFORD (13-8, 9-5 ODAC) CLARKE, Jevon 8-13 8-8 25; SWINDELL, Thomas 4-5 4-6 12; MARTIN, Clarence 5-8 1-2 12; CONNOR, Josh 2-4 5-8 10; CLYBURN, Devon 3-6 0-0 9; SPENCE, Robert 3-5 0-0 9; LAWHORN, Genaro 1-3 2-5 4; BRADFORD, Ron 1-3 0-0 3; WILLIAMS, Eric 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 28-51 20-29 86. Bridgewater................... 37 40 - 77 Guilford...................... 36 50 - 86 3-point goals-Bridgewater 6-17 (TARKINGTON, Ashby 2-7; MAUPIN, Josh 2-3; EASTERLING, Ricky 2-3; MICHAEL, Clay 0-2; FITZGERALD, Matt 0-1; LACEY, Andrew 0-1), Guilford 10-23 (CLYBURN, Devon 3-6; SPENCE, Robert 3-5; CONNOR, Josh 1-2; BRADFORD, Ron 1-3; CLARKE, Jevon 1-2; MARTIN, Clarence 1-4; WILLIAMS, Eric 0-1). Fouled out--Bridgewater-None, Guilford-None. Rebounds-Bridgewater 32 (LAMBERT, Ryan 8), Guilford 30 (CONNOR, Josh 7; CLARKE, Jevon 7). Assists-Bridgewater 15 (SCHWALM, Jeff 8), Guilford 13 (MARTIN, Clarence 3; WILLIAMS, Eric 3). Total fouls-Bridgewater 22, Guilford 19. A-400