February 13, 2016
By: Owen Lugibihl, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men’s basketball team hosted Anderson University on Saturday, Feb. 13, in an HCAC matchup. The Beavers dominated the second half to defeat Anderson by a score of 84-69 on Senior Day for another tally in the win column. With the emphatic victory the Beavers improved to 11-12 overall (6-10 HCAC) while the Ravens dropped to 13-10 overall (9-7 HCAC). Also on the slate for Saturday were the Hall of Fame inductions as Matt Creamer, Phil Krouskop, Todd Hafner and the 2004 Women's Track and Field Team were recognized at halftime!
The teams traded threes early in the first stanza, with markers coming from senior starters Mitchel Huffman (Jeromesville/Hillsdale) and Blake Green (Delta), but the Ravens continued to fly, opening up a 9-6 lead at the 18:00 mark. Two minutes later an early second foul would force Thayne Recker (Arlington) to the bench for the remainder of the half.
The Beavers continued to battle the Ravens without their leading scorer, with bench players coming up big, including two consecutive baskets by freshman post Austin Buchholz (Holgate). An emphatic block by Austin Rohde (Shelby) led to two free throws which capped off a 7-0 run by the Beavers, making the score 17-17 with 9:34 remaining in the first stanza. The score was even again at 31-31 following a Jared Wentling (Carey) jumper with 1:21 remaining. A tip in at the buzzer sent the Beavers to the locker room down three, 36-33.
Austin Rohde nailed a deep three following a dish from Recker to put the Beavers up one, 46-45, five minutes into the second half. A Kevin Christie (Miamisburg/Bishop Fenwick) three ball and free throw by Recker put the Beavers up 17, 69-52, at the 5:08 mark. With the free throw, Recker capped off a major scoring explosion, notching 13 of Bluffton’s last 21 points. A late surge by the Ravens pulled the visitors within 10, 79-69, but the Beavers converted their freebies to seal the 84-69 victory.
Bluffton put four individuals in double figures. Leading the home team was Rohde with a game-high 21 on 6-of-8 shooting and 8-of-8 from the charity stripe, to go along with three boards and two blocks. After failing to score in the first half, Thayne Recker finished with 18 and grabbed eight boards. Billy Taflinger (Lima/Central Catholic) added 15 tallies, three boards and six assists. Jared Wentling finished with a double-double, chalking up 13 points and a game-high 14 boards for his third double-double.
Bluffton won the rebounding battle, 41-36, but Anderson turned it over three fewer times (10-7). Anderson hit just 26-of-71 (36.6 percent) from the field, due to stifling defense from the Beavers who added seven blocks. Bluffton shot a red-hot 30-of-56 (53.6 percent) from the field and 19-for-23 (82.6 percent) from the charity stripe. Bluffton also did a great job of contesting all of Anderson’s deep balls, holding them to 4-of-20 (20.0 percent) from distance, 16.8 percent below their average.
Bluffton’s next contest will be another HCAC battle at Earlham on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. Go Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
