December 3, 2016
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team fell to Transylvania University 83-60 in the Heartland Conference opener on Saturday, Dec. 3. Bluffton saw its five-game winning streak come to an end as the Beavers fell to 5-1 and 0-1 in the HCAC. Transy evened up its overall mark at 2-2 with a 1-0 start in the conference.
Bluffton and Transylvania traded buckets their first three trips down the floor before an 8-0 Pioneer run put the home team up and it never looked back. Seven points from Austin Rohde (Shelby) and an Adam Hopkins (Wellington/Keystone) tip-in late in the first half helped the Beavers stay within striking distance, 37-30, at the break after Transy led by as many as 13 points in the first 20 minutes.
The Pioneers pushed the spread to 20 points midway through the second half, but five points from Hopkins and a Rohde dunk turned the tide. Trey Elchert (Jackson Center) dialed long distance before Jared Wentling (Carey) and Rohde racked up three points apiece the old-fashioned way. Another Wentling bucket made it 60-51 with 8:20 to play before Transylvania went on a 19-6 run to secure the 83-60 victory.
Rohde hit 8-of-13 from the field for a team-high 19 counters. Wentling added 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting while Hopkins tallied 12 in just 12 minutes of action off the bench. He finished 5-of-7 from the field.
Bluffton hit 25-of-57 from the field for 43.9 percent, but the Pioneers were a red-hot 38-of-58 (58.6 percent). Transy was 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from distance, compared to 3-of-12 (25 percent) for the visitors. Transy dominated the glass (38-21) and handed out eight more assists (13-5). Both teams turned it over just seven times.
The Beavers are back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 7, when Bluffton travels to Richmond, Ind. Tipoff with the Earlham College Quakers is slated for 7;30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
