By Josh Bruner, sports information assistant
The Bluffton University men's basketball team hosted HCAC rival Transylvania University on Saturday, December 4. The Beavers had the slight advantage at the half, 29-28 thanks to a Brent Farley (Lima/Shawnee) stickback. The Pioneers put together a strong second half, outscoring Bluffton 37-28 for the 65-57 victory. The Beavers suffered their first loss of the season as they slipped to 5-1 overall with a 1-1 mark in the Heartland Conference. The Pioneers improved to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the HCAC.
The Beavers got off to a slow start as they trailed the Pioneers 13-1 after a Brandon Rash three-pointer at the 16:46 mark. The Beavers finally pulled together the offense, going on a 13-0 run over the next eight and a half minutes. This spurt pushed the Beavers to their first lead of the night at the eight-minute mark following a Nick Lee (Vanlue) layup.
Transy quickly regained the lead as they opened a five-point cushion (21-16) after an Ashley Hatfield three-pointer. The Beavers trimmed the lead down to one after a Will Pope (Somerville/Preble Shawnee) free throw with four minutes remaining in the half.
The Pioneers responded again and reclaimed a six-point lead at the 2:38 mark thanks to a Mike Satterwhite layup. The Beavers pecked away at the lead over the remainder of half. The made it a one-point game with a Nate Heckelman (Norwalk) layup. The home team finished off the half with a last second tip-in by Brent Farley to give the Beavers a 29-28 lead at the break.
The teams came out of the half playing even as they traded points over the first four minutes. The game was knotted at 36 apiece with 16 minutes to play after a Mychal Hill (London/Jonathan Alder) three-pointer. The Beavers then took a two-point lead after a Josh Fisher (Rockford/Parkway) layup.
The Beavers went ahead of the Pioneers 49-44 for the biggest Bluffton lead of the night after two consecutive Nick Lee (Vanlue) free throws.
The Pioneers responded as they tied the game at 49-49 with just 6:34 left in the game. The Beavers pulled ahead by four after two consecutive layups, one by Dustin Kinn (Alvada/New Riegel) and the other by Hill.
Transy slowly pecked away at the lead, hitting four free throws for a 53-53 tie with only 5:14 left to play. The Pioneers continued to control the action over the next four minutes as the Beavers struggled to hang on to the ball. The Pioneers went on a 12-0 run thanks to five straight Bluffton turnovers.
The Beavers trailed by 10 with 30 seconds remaining. They added another Brent Farley layup to make the score 65-57 as the time expired. The Pioneers put an end to the Beavers five-game winning-streak and handed them their first loss of the season. It was Bluffton's second-best start to a season in school history, behind just the 1965-66 squad that opened up 6-0
The Beavers had two in double digits for the game. Farley led the team with 14 points and eight rebounds, followed closely by Pope with his second double-double. The freshman finished with 12 markers and a game-high 11 boards. Lee contributed nine counters and Hill added seven.
The Lions offense was evenly distributed as they put three in double digits. Rash lead the team with 15, and he was followed by Satterwhite with 12 and Hatfield with 11. Tate Cox added seven points while Barrett Meyer chipped in six for the Pioneers.
The Beavers outshot the Pioneers from the field as they hit 21-of-44 (47.7 percent) and 4-of-12 (33.3 percent) from behind the arc, while the Pioneers converted only 22-for-55 (40 percent) and 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from behind the arc. The Pioneers proved to be more efficient from the line, knocking down 17-of-29 (58.6 percent), while the Beavers made 11-of-20 (55.0 percent). Bluffton out rebounded Transy, pulling in 40 compared to 27 for the visitors. The difference proved to be in the turnover column, where the Beavers gave up the ball 23 teams compared to the just seven miscues by the Pioneers.
The Bluffton University men's basketball team will travel to Anderson, Indiana, on Wednesday, December 8 to face the Ravens in another HCAC matchup. The contest is slated to begin at 7:30 PM.-
