BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Shenandoah University men's basketball team completed the most successful fall semester of the Rob Harris era Tuesday evening with a 68-67 victory over Bridgewater College.

In the process, SU (7-2) gave Harris his 60th career victory as the Hornets head coach. Harris is now tied with Jack Edmondson for second all-time on the victories list.

Former head coach Dave Dutton leads with 161 wins.

Shenandoah bolted out to a 19-point halftime lead against the homestanding Eagles (8-2), but had to hold on as Bridgewater's stingy defense forced SU into a 6 for 23 (26.1 percent) shooting performance following the break.

BC continually cut into the Hornets advantage, turning what was a 25-point SU lead (42-17) at the 4:01 mark of the first into just a four-point lead with 95 seconds remaining.

Unfortunately for the home fans, a second straight Bridgewater comeback against Shenandoah was not to be in the offing as the Hornets hit six of eight free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

After senior Chris Rhone (Washington, D.C./Northwestern) gave SU a 69-65 lead with a pair of foul shots in the waning moments, the Eagles hit a three-pointer as time expired to provide the final margin.

Junior Jared Hale (Centreville, Va./Lynchburg) led the visitors with 14 points while Rhone added 12 and Kenny Purnell (Baltimore, Md./Lake Clifton) 11 to go along with six assists.

Box Score/Play by Play 

Ricky Easterling had 18 for Bridgewater. Shenandoah is now off until January 3 when it travels to Roanoke College to play in the Jimmy V Classic. SU faces Worcester (Mass.) in the first round of the tourney.