The white-hot Bluffton High School boys basketball team remained first in the Northwest Conference following a 66-58 win over visiting Spencerville in a key league showdown Friday night, January 28
Trenton Donley netted 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to pace the victors.
Bluffton held a narrow 12-11 lead after the first period, and inched ahead 21-19 at halftime. A 17-10 third quarter run extended their lead to 38-29 heading to a wild final period.
The visiting Bluffton High School girls basketball team lost 58-49 at Spencerville in a Northwest Conference contest Thursday night, January 27.
The Lady Pirates fell to 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the NWC after suffering just their second loss in the last 12 games. Spencerville improved to 11-7 and 3-3 in the NWC with the win. The two teams are now tied for fourth place in the league standings. Both squads are out of the running for the conference crown.
The Bluffton University men's basketball team lost a defensive tussle at Anderson, 52-42, on a frigid Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Bluffton fell to 5-11 overall and 1-7 in the Heartland Conference, while Anderson stayed in the HCAC hunt at 13-5 and 8-3 in the conference.
The Bluffton University women's basketball team recovered from a sluggish start to rout Anderson University 83-59 on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Bluffton solidified its hold on second place in the HCAC, improving to 12-5 and 7-3 in the conference, while Anderson dipped to 8-9 and 5-5 in the Heartland.
Bluffton trailed 8-3 and 10-8 before going up for good at 14-12 when Morgan Smith (Arlington) knocked down a jumper at the 3:46 mark of period one. That started a string of nine straight points for the junior phenom as Bluffton took a 21-17 lead into the second quarter.
In a game that saw 14 lead changes it was the final one with two ticks left that made the difference as Earlham downed the Bluffton University men's basketball team 60-59 for its third straight victory. The Beavers fell to 5-10, while Earlham improved to 6-8 in the non-conference matchup that was a makeup from January 12.
The Bluffton University men's basketball team battled back from an early deficit, but Hanover College was too much for the Beavers down the stretch on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. Hanover improved to 13-2 overall and 9-1 in the Heartland Conference following a 67-57 victory over Bluffton (5-9, 1-6 HCAC).
