February 15, 2017
By: Jared Sleutz, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Bluffton took to the court to battle the visiting Earlham College Quakers on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The Beavers led from tip to horn, rolling to a 70-56 victory. A berth in the HCAC tournament is still a possibility for a Bluffton squad that improved to 13-11 overall and 6-11 in the HCAC, while the visiting Quakers fell to 2-15 in the HCAC (6-18 overall).
Bluffton took the lead just over a minute into the game and the home team never looked back. Senior AUSTIN ROHDE (Shelby) hit the opening three as the Beavers built an 18-5 lead at the 12:56 mark. With the first half winding down, freshman HOUSTON BLAIR (Galion) hit a deep three off an assist from senior TREY ELCHERT (Jackson Center), giving Bluffton a commanding 15-point lead (38-23) heading into the break.
With 10 minutes left in the game, Rohde stole the ball near midcourt and threw the hammer down with a two-handed dunk in front of the hometown crowd! The Beavers would not let up, pushing the spread to as many as 16 points before finishing off the 70-56 victory.
Bluffton was led by Rohde having himself a night with 27 points on 9-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-8 from distance. Second in scoring column was KEVIN CHRISTIE (Dayton/Bishop Fenwick) with a career-high 16 points thanks to a red hot 3-of-4 on triples to go along with his five assists. JARED WENTLING (Carey) notched his 6th career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Bluffton hit 24-56 (42.9 percent), including a sterling 10-of-23 (43.5 percent) from beyond the arc. The Quakers hit 23-of-46 (41.1 percent) from the field but struggled to a 6-of-20 (30 percent) night from downtown. The Beavers won the rebounding battle, 38-31, and Earlham turned the ball over one more time (10-9).
Bluffton wraps up the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 18, when the Beavers welcome Hanover College which is on top of the conference at 15-2 in the HCAC (20-3 overall). Come out and support the Beavers on Senior Day when Bluffton honors Austin Rohde, Trey Elchert, Adam Hopkins (Wellington/Keystone) and Josh Carey (Bellefontaine). Tip-off is set for 3 PM.
-BEAVERS-
