January 3, 2018
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The offense sputtered at Mount St. Joseph as the Bluffton University men came up on the wrong end of a 62-41 final at Cincinnati on a cold Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. Bluffton fell to 5-7 and 2-3 in the Heartland Conference, while MSJ upped its mark to 8-4 and 5-0 in the conference.
Mount St. Joseph rolled to a 37-15 lead at the break and never looked back. The Lions continued their domination into the second period, forging a 60-25 lead with 9:07 to play. Four straight points from Andrew Renner (Cairo/Bath) ignited a 16-2 Bluffton run to finish the game, but the home team stayed perfect in conference play following the 62-41 victory.
Renner finished with a team-high nine points, while senior Thad Phillips (South Bend, Ind./Riley) ripped down a career-best seven boards.
Bluffton struggled to a 16-of-54 (29.6 percent) night from the field, including just 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) from distance. The Beavers pulled down 16 more rebounds (41-25) but they also turned it over seven more times (19-12).
The Beavers are back at home on Saturday, Jan. 6, when they welcome Anderson University. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. following the women's contest with AU.
-BEAVERS-
