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| Josh Campbell returned from injury for Bridgewater State, and boy, did he have a big impact. Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com |
LAS VEGAS -- The first full day of the 15th Annual D3hoops.com Classic brought a Top 25 upset, a thrilling finish, and a pair of Bear wins, including a red-hot offensive performance by Bridgewater State.
The day started with Gettysburg sending No. 15 Amherst to its first loss, as the Bullets shot through the Mammoths’ defense for a 73-59 victory.
After a slow start, Gettysburg found a spark in reserve forward Sarah Bertolette who scored 10 points off the bench for the Bullets in the first half. Gettysburg grabbed the lead early in the second quarter and extended it to 17 in the third when Bertolette followed a made layup with two free throws. The Bullets held Amherst at bay the rest of the way.
Bertolette scored a career-high 16 points and Briana Robles added 13 more for Gettysburg (6-4), which had a 45-19 bench scoring advantage.
Whittier erased a 20-point deficit, survived a potential buzzer beater at the end of regulation, and eventually defeated Bridgewater State, 72-70, in overtime.
Bridgewater State seemed fully in control when Reese Barrett drilled a three that put the Bears in front of the Poets, 51-31, with 2:30 to play in the third quarter. Whittier used its pressing defense to frustrate Bridgewater State and hit four 3-pointers in the final period to close the deficit to two points. The Poets point guard Jadyn Patterson twice tied the game by hitting two free throws in the closing minutes, and Bridgewater State missed a game-winning layup attempt at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
Whittier held a 70-67 lead in the final minute of overtime until Savannah Azoff drained a game-tying three for Bridgewater State. On the ensuing Whittier possession, Xochitl Hood grabbed an offensive rebound off a teammate’s miss and threw a looping layup through hoop for the game-winning basket.
Kennedy Perkins and Shushan Krikorian scored 23 points apiece and played a combined 82 minutes for Whittier (4-4). Bartlett finished with 16 points for Bridgewater State (1-7) before fouling out.
Bridgewater State flipped the script in the men’s game, as the Bears grabbed a double-digit lead early in the second half and cruised past Whittier, 88-74.
Bridgewater State scored the last four points of the first half and the first seven points of the second half, taking a 54-37 lead on Louis Jennings’ layup. The Bears had a 38-18 bench scoring advantage, led by reserve forward Josh Campbell who poured in 23 points in 19 minutes. Dante Kikuba also had 23 points for Bridgewater State (2-7). The Bears posted the second-most assists in a D3hoops.com Classic men's game with 23.
In the night cap, Ohio Northern held Amherst without a field goal for most of the second half and pulled away from the Mammoths, 78-62.
Johnny McCain hit a three-pointer with 12:26 to play in the second half that put Amherst in front 52-48, and that was the Mammoth’s last made field goal. Ohio Northern held Amherst to a handful of free throws and pulled away on a series of threes by Noah Langford, Mason Studer, and Will Miller.
Ohio Northern (6-5) had four players score double figures and went 24 for 28 from the foul line, led by Aiden Harris who had 20 points including six made free throws. K.J. Neville scored 15 points for Amherst (7-3), who was missing two injured starters.