By Mallory Kemper, sports information intern

The Bluffton University men's basketball team used a dominating performance to upend HCAC rival Earlham College on Saturday, January 15. The Beavers upped their record to 11-4 overall and 4-4 in the Heartland Conference. Earlham slipped to 0-8 in HCAC action and 2-13 for this season.

Junior Brent Farley (Lima/Shawnee) ignited the Bluffton offense as he drove to the hoop for two. A layin from Dustin Kinn (Alvada/New Riegel) and a triple by Josh Johnson (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) sparked Bluffton as the Beavers went on a 15-0 run.

The Quakers rallied back to cut the deficit to seven with a layin by Dustin Rusk and a Marcus Bledsoe trifecta with 10:17 left in the opening half. At the 7:10 mark, Nate Hecklman's (Norwalk) layin and a pair of Mychal Hill (London/Jon. Alder) freebies put the Beavers ahead, 21-13.

A trifecta by Justin Barger at the 4:17 mark brought the Quakers within six, but a layin from Hill and a Kinn bucket put the Beavers up (34-19) at the break.

Bluffton started the second half with Farley's dunk at the 18:12 mark. With momentum on their side, a Hill layin kept the Beavers rolling.

Less than a minute later, a Will Pope (Somerville/Preble Shawnee) chip shot gave the Beavers their largest lead of the game, 44-26. For the next seven minutes Bluffton dominated Earlham, outscoring the visitors 14-4 for a 60-30 advantage with 7:30 left in the game.

Following a Josh Fisher (Rockford/Parkway) theft, Nick Lee (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) gave it up for Pope who sent the crowd into a frenzy with a thunderous jam that pushed the Beavers to their largest lead of the night (62-30). Bluffton's backups finished Earlham off for a convincing 73-49 win over the Quakers, handing the Beavers' their third straight HCAC victory and a .500 mark in the conference.

Leading the way for Bluffton was freshman Dustin Kinn with a career-high tying 14 points, draining 7-of-10 from the floor. Hill added 12 points and dished out three assists. Farley had an impressive game, chipping in with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, grabbing six rebounds and picking up three steals.

Bluffton finished the game 28-of-50 (56 percent), while Earlham went 19-of-41 (46.3 percent) from the field. The Beavers turned it over just 12 times, while the Quakers had 22 miscues. Bluffton converted on 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) at the line, compared to the Quakers who went 6-for-8 (75 percent). The Beavers finished with a 27-21 advantage on the boards.

The Bluffton University men's basketball team will travel to rival Defiance College on Wednesday, January 19, to face the Yellow Jackets in the final HCAC contest of round one. The game is slated to tip at 7:30 p.m. in the Weaner Center.