January 24, 2015
By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant
ANDERSON, Ind. - The Bluffton University men suffered another tough road loss as they fell to the Anderson University Ravens, 84-61, on Saturday, Jan. 24. The Ravens improved to 8-9 and 7-3 in the HCAC while Bluffton fell below the .500 mark to 8-9 overall and 4-6 in Heartland Conference play.
The Ravens started with a quick 9-4 lead in the early going. The Beavers were able to keep it within two possessions until the home team made their first run at the 11:01 mark, when they took their four-point lead and extended it to 11 with seven straight markers. Their lead was nine before the home team finished the period on a 14-4 spurt to hold a 42-23 halftime advantage.
Anderson extended the lead to 22 at the 15:52 mark of the second stanza before three straight triples, two from Austin Rohde (Shelby) and one from Blake Green (Delta), would cut the lead to 13. The Beavers pulled within 10 points on another three from Ryan Ebbeskotte (Delphos/Jefferson) with 11:30 remaining. However, with Anderson leading 60-49, the Ravens answered with a 15-2 jag to all but end the Beavers' hopes.
AU finished shooting a red-hot 61.2 percent (30-of-49) from the floor and 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from deep. Bluffton continued its shooting woes, hitting just 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the floor and 26.3 percent (5-of-19) from deep. Anderson also outrebounded Bluffton, 34-31, however, Bluffton was able to grab 12 offensive boards to Anderson’s five. The Ravens committed 16 turnovers, while Bluffton turned it over 13 times. The visitors were 12-of-15 (80.0 percent) from the stripe.
The Beavers were led by Thayne Recker (Arlington), who scored 20 points and ripped down seven boards. Andrew Finley (Cincinnati/Walnut Hills) would add 11 markers and six rebounds while Austin Rohde finished with 10 off the bench. Anderson received a huge performance from Nathan Gross who scored a game-high 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting and also grabbed eight rebounds. Max Mollaun stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points (9-of-15 shooting), five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the win.
The Beavers head to Defiance to match up with the arch-rival Yellow Jackets on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m. before returning home to take on the Hanover College Panthers on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. Come support your Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
