By Cort Reynolds
KENTON - Visiting Bluffton won a 57-55 nailbiter at WBL foe Kenton in a non-conference boys basketball battle Saturday night.
The Pirates led 10-5 after the first period and held a 24-21 edge at halftime. They led 37-33 after three quarters.
Bluffton canned 11 of 17 free throws in the final stanza to stave off the Wildcats as Kenton's Jayden Cornell scored nine late points.
The Pirates improved to 17-4 with the road win. Meanwhile, Kenton fell to 11-10 with their third straight defeat.
Senior Mason Soper led the Pirates by scoring 15 points. Senior Jared Piercefield contributed 13 markers, while junior Levi Hohenbrink netted seven of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Trey Jeffries led the Wildcats with a game-high 18 points. Cornell tallied 17 points and Reed Cook added 11.
Bluffton canned 19 field goals, including 13 two-point goals and six trifectas. The Pirates converted 13 of 21 foul shots (62 percent).
Kenton sank 14 two-pointers and seven triples for 21 total baskets. The Wildcats converted six of 10 free throws (60 percent).
Kenton committed nine turnovers, while Bluffton made 10 errors.
Bluffton improved to 6-3 on the road this season with the win.
Bluffton 57 (17-4)
Deardorff 2 0-0 6, Schriner 2 0-0 4, Garmatter 0 3-4 3, Soper 5 4-6 15, Piercefield 4 4-9 13, Essinger 2 0-0 4, Hohenbrink 3 2-2 10, Kinn 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 19/13-21/57. 3-pointers: Hohenbrink 2, Soper 1, Deardorff 2, Piercefield 1.
Kenton 55 (11-10)
Cornell 7 2-5 17, Ellis 4 0-0 9, Jeffries 6 2-2 18, Eversole 0, Cook 4 2-3 11, Bartlett 0, Huston 0.
Totals: 21/6-10/55. 3-pointers: Jeffries 4, Cornell 1, Ellis 1, Cook 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Bluf 10 14 13 20 57
Kent 5 16 12 22 55
Bluffton (5-2 NWC) visits Delphos Jefferson (8-13, 4-3 NWC) in the league and regular season finale Friday, February 21.
The second-seeded Pirates will then play the winner between 11th seed Paulding (6-14) and fifth seed Lima Central Catholic Friday, Feb. 28 in Elida at 8 p.m. in the sectional second round.
The Pirates whipped the Panthers 63-48 on Jan. 10, but did not play former NWC foe LCC (12-8).
The Elida/Miller City sectional final winners advance to the Lima Senior districts March 5. If the seeds hold according to form, Bluffton would face tough Wayne Trace (15-5) in the district semis.
Ottawa-Glandorf (19-1) was seeded first in the sectional, with Wayne Trace ranked third and Riverdale fourth. The Pirates lost at home to top seed O-G 47-41 on Jan. 4 to suffer their first loss of the season. It was their only home defeat of the campaign.
The district finals are set for Saturday, March 7 at Lima Senior.
