November 17, 2016
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's basketball team brought the unseasonably warm weather inside as the Beavers were a red-hot 10-of-14 from distance in the first half en route to a 79-53 victory over OSU-Lima on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016. Bluffton opens the season 1-0 after a dominating performance that saw 14 Beavers crack the scorebook.
Five different Beavers knocked down triples in the first 10 minutes as Bluffton opened a 27-9 advantage before the Barons knew what hit them. A deep ball from senior Josh Carey (Bellefontaine) followed by three straight Andrew Renner (Lima/Bath) trifectas helped the Beavers to a commanding 47-25 spread at the break.
Jared Wentling (Carey) got to the rack for consecutive deuces following a Trey Elchert (Jackson Center) long ball as the home team pushed it to 56-30 less than four minutes into period two. Sophomore Justis Dowdy (Van Wert/Lincolnview) kept the surge going with three quick buckets in a span of 1:25 for a 31-point lead (64-33) at the 13:21 mark. His three-point play with 2:57 to play capped off Bluffton's 79-53 season-opening victory.
Renner found the Sommer Center to his liking, hitting 6-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-4 from distance, for a game-high 16 points in his debut as a Beaver. Dowdy was 4-of-5 for nine points to go along with four rebounds. A 3-of-3 night from distance propelled Elchert to nine points, while Wentling added eight points and four boards. Elchert also handed out five dimes for the victors. Junior Andrew Hunter (Arlington) doled out a career-high seven assists. Freshman Isaiah Taylor (Yellow Springs) ripped down a team-high five boards in just 11 minutes of action.
Bluffton went 30-of-57 from the field (52.6 percent), including a blistering 13-for-25 (52.0 percent) on triples. The Beavers pulled down nine more boards (37-28) than the visitors and they dished out 13 more assists (23-10). Both teams turned it over 10 times, but OSU-Lima struggled to an 18-of-55 night from the field (32.7 percent).
The Beavers jump back into action on Saturday, Nov. 19, when Bluffton welcomes Hiram to the Sommer Center. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
