January 28, 2015
By: Griffin Kuras, sports information assistant
DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Beavers made the short trip north to Defiance on Wednesday, Jan. 28, to battle the Yellow Jackets on their turf just two short weeks after Bluffton's stunning 70-68 upset in the Sommer Center, The result was not the same as the Jackets rolled to a 73-51 victory. The visitors never led as Defiance was ready to go from the opening tip. Bluffton fell to 8-10 overall with a 4-7 mark in the HCAC, while the Jackets improved to 13-5 on the season and a stout 8-3 record in the HCAC.
The Jackets were able to dominate throughout, riding Bernard Edwards 31 points and 18 from Mason Roth to an easy victory. Defiance pushed its lead all the way to 26 with 1:55 left in the game. The only signs of life for the Beavers came from Thayne Recker (Arlington) and Billy Taflinger (Lima/Central Catholic) with 35 of Bluffton’s points split between the two juniors.
The poor shooting was the tale of the take as the Beavers were only able to hit 13.3 percent (2-of-15) from behind the arc and 45.5 percent (5-for-11) from the charity stripe. Despite out-rebounding the home team, 41 to 35, Bluffton was unable to take advantage of easy opportunities which put the Beavers in a tough situation all night long.
Recker knocked down 8-of-17, totaling 19 points as well as adding a game-high 12 boards and two blocks for his 12th career double-double. Billy Taflinger added 16 points and six rebounds off the bench. Joshua Woodrich (Navarre/Central Christian) chipped in with five points but had a monster effort on the boards with eight rebounds.
The Beavers are back at home in the Sommer Center when they welcome Hanover College on Saturday Jan. 31, at 3 p.m. following the women's contest against the Panthers.
-BEAVERS-
