February 18, 2015
By: Griffin Kuras, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Bluffton University took the court against Earlham on Wednesday, Feb. 18, and dominated from the opening tip, scoring a 73-49 victory over the visiting Quakers. It was Senior Night in the Sommer Center as Ryan Ebbeskotte (Delphos/Jefferson), Brock Homier (Continental), and Zach Rumbaugh (Lima/Senior) were all honored prior to their final home game, but it was junior Thayne Recker (Arlington) who stole the show when he scored career point 1,000 on a runner with 2:05 to play!
The Quakers were unable to get anything going offensively as their tough season continued, falling to 1-23 overall and 1-16 in the HCAC. Bluffton was able to keep its tournament hopes alive with yet another victory, their second straight and fifth in the last six contests as they boosted their record to 13-11 overall with a 9-8 mark in the HCAC.
The Beavers jumped out to a 10-point lead, up 21-11 with 10:11 left to play in the first half. The personal fouls were the Quakers downfall as they sent the home team to the line 17 times, forcing their starters to sit for much of the first half. Bluffton’s big men came up huge as they did the bulk of the scoring. Freshman Joshua Woodrich (Navarre/Central Christian) went off for a career-high 20 and Thayne Recker paced the home team with 24 markers. Recker’s 24 points were just enough to push him over 1,000 career points, making him one of only 11 players in Bluffton history to join the 1,000 point and 500 rebound club!
The second half was much of the same. The Beavers were able to continue their steady offensive performance as they separated themselves from the Quakers. The largest lead of the game was 24 points with 42 seconds left in the game. The Quakers were unable to sustain anything offensively, having a rough night from behind the arc as they hit just 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) while attempting only five free throws for the game.
Recker led all scorers with 24 points, including 10 from the line as he was 10-of-11 at the charity stripe. The bully on the block ripped down 14 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive side, and picked up three steals. Woodrich knocked down 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. Austin Rohde (Shelby) chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds, a block and a career-high six assists.
The Beavers hit the road to take on Transylvania University for the last game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 21. It will be the unofficial start of the HCAC tournament as the winner advances to the quarterfinals next week while it is the end of the road for the team that comes up short. Tip off is slated for 4 p.m. in Lexington, Ky., following the women's showdown with the HCAC regular-season champion Pioneers.
-BEAVERS-
