December 2, 2016

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The first two weeks of basketball have been kind to both the Bluffton University men and women as the Beavers have combined for a perfect 9-0 mark heading into Heartland Conference action on Saturday, Dec. 3. It marks the first time in Bluffton history that both teams have sported a bagel in the loss column at this point of the season!

A dominating defensive effort by the men in a 68-54 win over visiting Kalamazoo on Wednesday night propelled the Beavers to a 5-0 start for just the fourth time in school history. The 2010-11 and 2011-12 versions of Bluffton men's basketball opened the season 5-0. A victory at Transylvania on Saturday in the Heartland Conference lidlifter would help the Beavers equal the 1965-66 squad (6-0) for the best start in Bluffton men's basketball history.

Bluffton has shown the ability beat teams at their own game. The Beavers went toe-to-toe with a talented Terrier unit in a 90-86 overtime win over Hiram, a team that handled Bluffton 91-71 last season, before holding a high-powered Rhodes squad 20 points under its season average in a 102-100 win on Thanksgiving weekend. Bluffton followed those wins by limiting its next two opponents to 56 and 54 points, respectively. Kalamazoo jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead two nights ago, but the home team clamped down on the oversized Hornets to the tune of a 37-16 run for a 39-27 halftime lead en route to the convincing non-conference victory.

Powering the offense is senior standout Austin Rohde (Shelby) who is dropping in 19.2 PPG on 33-of-67 (49.3 percent) from the field. His 19.2 PPG is 9th in the conference and he has taken advantage at the stripe, knocking down 22-of-26 freebies for 84.6 percent. Also in double figures are sophomore Jared Wentling (Carey) and freshman Andrew Renner (Cairo/Bath) with 12.2 and 10.6 PPG, respectively. Renner is 9-of-17 (47.4 percent) from distance, while Wentling leads the team with 6.6 RPG. Senior Trey Elchert (Jackson Center) has been the catalyst, doling out a conference-best 6.0 assists per game to go along with a team-high seven steals. He is hitting 53.6 percent from the field (15-of-28), including a blistering 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) from outside the arc.

The Beavers have been superb offensively, converting 143-of-284 from the field for 50.4 percent shooting, including 43-of-108 from distance (39.8 percent). Bluffton has also made a living at the line, making more free throws than the opposition has taken (74-of-98 compared to 49-of-71). Sophomore Justis Dowdy (Van Wert/Lincolnview) and senior Adam Hopkins (Wellington/Keystone) are both hitting over 70 percent from the field off the bench, while juniors Andrew Hunter (Arlington) and Kevin Christie (Miamisburg/Bishop Fenwick) have handed out 15 and 10 dimes, respectively. Christie is  nearly perfect at the line, converting 12-of-13 for 92.3 percent. Sophomore Martin Maksvytis (Dayton/Franklin-Monroe) gives the Beavers a multi-dimensional four who can spread the floor. Maksvytis is 15-of-28 from the field (53.8 percent) and his 13 assists are third on the team.

A trip to Lexington is the next box to check as the Beavers kick off Heartland Conference action at Transylvania on Saturday. Bluffton held off the Pioneers 81-79 in the 2015-16 HCAC opener before Transy responded with the equalizer 73-64 in February. The pressure will firmly be on a home team that was tabbed to finish second in the pre-season coaches' poll, seven spots in front of a visiting Bluffton club that placed ninth in the poll. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. following the women's showdown with host Transylvania. The Beavers head to Earlham on Wednesday and then on to Rose-Hulman on Saturday, Dec. 10 before their HCAC home opener with Franklin on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m.

-BEAVERS-