By Mallory Kemper, sports information intern
The Bluffton University men's basketball team struggled with its shooting in a 65-55 loss at Rose-Hulman on Saturday, February 12. The Beavers dropped to 14-9 overall and 7-9 in the Heartland Conference following their fourth consecutive setback. The Engineers improved to 10-6 in the HCAC and 16-7 overall.
Bluffton jumped out to a 10-5 lead over Rose less than six minutes in before the Engineers used a 4-0 run to make the score 10-9 at the 13:19 mark.
Freshman Dustin Kinn (Alvada/New Reigel) tied the game at 14 with a layin. Nate Gissentanner responded to a Mychal Hill (London/Jon. Alder) bucket, knotting the score at 16.
A couple of free throws by Josh Fisher (Rockford/Parkway) at the 9:34 mark gave Bluffton the lead, 18-16. Mychal Hill (London/Jon. Alder) put the Beavers up by four with less than six minutes to play in the opening half.
The two teams traded baskets throughout the rest of the first period until a Fisher jumper gave Bluffton a two-point lead at the break (30-28).
Bluffton opened the second half with back-to-back layins from Nick Lee (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) and Brent Farley (Lima/Shawnee), making the score 34-28. The Engineers' Julian Strickland answered with a jumper and a triple to pull Rose-Hulman within one at the 15:27 mark.
Two minutes later Josh Johnson (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) buried a trifecta to put the Beavers back up by six (45-39). A Jon Gerken jumper knotted the game at 47 with 9:06 left to play.
The home team continued its onslaught, going up by seven with buckets by James Pillischafske and Gerken at the 4:46 mark. Rose-Hulman outscored the Beavers 26-10 over the final 11:49 to secure their 65-55 victory over the visitors.
The Beavers hit 21-of-56 (37.5 percent), while the Engineers made 24-of-50 (48.0 percent) from the field, including 7-of-15 from distance. Bluffton pulled down 11 more rebounds than Rose-Hulman (40-29). Rose-Hulman committed only seven turnovers, while the Beavers had 12 miscues.
The Beavers were led by Mychal Hill with 24 points, shooting 8-of-17 from the floor. Dustin Kinn added eight points and collected eight rebounds with one block. The Engineers put four players in double digits, led by Julian Strickland with 18 counters.
The Bluffton University men's basketball team will host rival Defiance College in another HCAC matchup on Wednesday, February 16. The game, which will also feature the beheading of Bluffton mascot J. Denny Beaver at halftime, is scheduled to tip at 7:30 p.m. in Founders Hall.
