The Bluffton University men's basketball team lost a nail-biter to Transylvania, 65-62, on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, with three Beavers notching double digits. Even though Bluffton led 60-53 with just over four minutes to play, but the visitors allowed just two points the rest of the way for their third win of the season. Bluffton stands 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the Heartland Conference.
With the Beavers up by two at the break, they were looking to keep their foot on the peddle and try to steal a win on the road against a very good Pioneer squad. With the Bluffton offense sputtering, the Beavers fell behind 46-43 with 12:33 to play. Bluffton finally regained the lead at the 7:20 mark following a Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) layup that put the Beavers up 51-50. Unfortunately, two late turnovers by the Beavers added up to a 65-62 Transy victory in the HCAC lidlifter for both teams.
Bluffton took the early 13-8 lead thanks to an Andrew Renner (Cairo/Lima) layup with 15:18 left in the first stanza. The Beavers controlled the action, pushing the spread to seven when sophomore Aaron Rich (Greenville) hit a jump shot that made the score 28-21 late in the first half. Transylvania used a 13-4 advantage over the final five minutes of the first stanza to pull within two (36-34) at the break.
Renner led the way for the Beavers, dropping in 18 points on 7-of-16 from the field, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. He also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Rich netted 13 counters and pulled down six rebounds. Junior Isaiah Taylor (Yellow Springs) went for eight points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Dezman Brown (Elyria) chipped in with seven points and seven boards. Cosby added 11 markers for the visitors.
The Bluffton men will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 5, when they travel to Earlham College for an HCAC clash. The matchup is slated to tip at 7:30 p.m. in Richmond, Ind.
