The Bluffton University men's basketball team dropped a 75-63 decision at Mount St. Joseph on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. Bluffton fell to 2-6 overall and 0-3 in the Heartland Conference, while MSJ moved to 4-4 and 1-2 in the HCAC.

The two conference rivals battled through six ties over the first 10 minutes as five Beavers scored, led by seven points from Michael Stammen (Versailles) and a 24-22 Bluffton lead with 9:22 to play in the first half. Junior Kegan Owen (Indianapolis, Ind./Greenwood) followed with consecutive buckets, but Mount St. Joseph closed the opening stanza on a 15-8 spurt as the Lions led 47-38 at the break.

Stammen and Mike Ketner (Minster) combined for six quick points to open period two, however, MSJ kept pace and then some as the home team went up 58-44 when Devin Young, who led the home team with 30 counters, dialed long distance at the 15:47 mark. Consecutive triples from Stammen and a Miguel Ringer (Cincinnati/Christian) layin pulled Bluffton within eight (60-52) with 13:31 to play. Another Stammen trifecta made it 64-59 with 8:13 on the clock before the Lions iced it with a 9-2 run that helped the home team to a 75-63 victory as both teams went scoreless over the final 3:30 of the contest.

Stammen was on fire with a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a red-hot 4-for-5 from distance! Ringer netted his second career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 13 boards. Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) and Ketner dropped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. Cosby added five assists, two blocks and two steals.

MSJ pulled down eight more rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass. The Lions hit 29-of-57 (50.9 percent) from the field, while the Beavers knocked down 26-of-53 (49.1 percent). The Beavers were efficient from beyond the arc, making 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) on triple tries. The Lions finished with a 15-6 edge in second chance points.

Bluffton is off for Christmas with its next contest on Wednesday, Dec. 29, when the Beavers host Adrian in the McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Classic. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. in the Sommer Center.