By Josh Bruner, sports information assistant

Bluffton University played in the championship game of the 2010 McDonald's Holiday Tournament on Thursday, December 30, against Westminster College. The Beavers used a 32-7 jag starting at the 9:49 mark of the second stanza to post a convincing 80-60 victory. The win pushes the Beavers to 8-3 while the Titans fell to 3-9.

The Beavers started with a Brent Farley (Lima/Shawnee) layup. The Titans responded with a three from Christian Shea. Bluffton opened a four-point lead after a Josh Johnson (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) three-pointer made it 12-8 at the 14:36 mark. Bluffton continued to control the game over the next four minutes as a Rob Luderman (Ayersville) layup gave the Beavers an 18-10 advantage.

Bluffton's lead grew to double digits after consecutive free throws from freshman Will Pope (Somerville/Preble Shawnee) put the Beavers up 22-12 with 9:36 left in the half.

The Titans slowly picked away at the lead before an Anthony DeFelice three-pointer trimmed it to four at the 5:30 mark. Two free throws from Mychal Hill (London/Jonathan Alder) put the home team back up by eight with four minutes to play in the half.

An old-fashioned three-point play from Kendall Hunter made it a three-point game with three minutes left in the opening stanza. The Beavers controlled the rest of the half as a Hill three put them up 11 at the 1:15 mark. The Titans added a Shea deuce before the end of the half, making the score 39-30 at the break.

The Beavers started the second half slowly as the Titans went on a 9-0 run while Bluffton was held scoreless for the first six minutes of the period. An Andy Timko three knotted the game at 39 with 16:20 to play.

Bluffton finally managed some offense after six minutes of play in the second half. Nick Lee (Vanlue) converted a fastbreak layup to give the Beavers the lead once again.

The Titans took their first lead since the start of the game at the 11:25 mark after a Liam Halferty three-pointer. The teams continued to stay even over the next three minutes as the Beavers trailed by just one at the 10:09 mark.

The Beavers went on a tear following a Christian Shea trifecta, going on a 20-2 run that put Bluffton up 71-52 at the 2:48 mark. The run was led by Hill who contributed nine markers and an assist.

The Titans finally put an end to the run at the 2:31 mark with a Rob Briggs layup. The Beavers pulled ahead by their largest margin at the one-minute mark after a Tyler Neal (Bluffton) jumper gave them a 24 point lead (78-54).

The Titans closed on a 6-2 rally but it was not enough as the Beavers won the 2010 McDonald's Holiday Tournament 80-60. It marks Bluffton's sixth McDonald's title in the past seven years.

The Beaver scoring was led by junior Mychal Hill with 22 points and four assists. Farley followed closely with 17 counters, six boards and three assists. Luderman and Johnson both hit for double digits as well with 12 and 11, respectively. Hill was named the Tournament MVP while Luderman also earned All-Tournament honors.

The Titans were led by Shea with 12, going 2-for-3 from behind the arc. Adam Carswell chipped in with nine. Briggs added eight, while Hunter dropped in seven for the Titans. DeFelice and Timko were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts this week.

The Beavers proved more efficient from the field, shooting 24-of-47 (51.1 percent), while the Titans hit 25-of-62 (40.3 percent). The Beavers also shot better from behind the arc, draining 6-of-15 (40 percent) with the Titans close behind at 8-of-23 (34.8 percent). Bluffton dominated from the charity stripe, hitting 26-of-34 (76.5 percent), while holding the Titans to only six attempts where they made two (33.3 percent).

The Beavers will be back in action January 5, 2011, when they pick up HCAC action once again. They will travel to Hanover, Indiana, to face the Panthers. The contest is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. as part of a weeknight women's and men's doubleheader.