By Cort Reynolds
BLUFFTON - Red-hot host Bluffton tossed in a school-record 25 three-point goals and surpassed the century mark in a 101-46 rout of local non-conference rival Cory-Rawson Saturday night in a historic Pirate boys basketball blowout.
Pirate Trenton Donley splashed five trifectas in the third period to lead a 33-12 Bluffton outburst. He netted 31 points by draining a school single-game record nine triples.
Eight of the Pirates who scored launched in at least one three-point goal in the epic onslaught. Trey Boblitt canned seven triples, which tied the previous program record, en route to a 23-point night.
Bluffton raced to a 21-5 lead after the opening stanza as Donley and Carson Soper each drilled a pair of triples. The Pirates extended the margin to 45-20 at halftime by hitting six more treys in the second stanza.
Boblitt drained three triples, Donley sank two and Soper one in the second period.
Bluffton heated up even more in the third quarter, nailing nine trifectas and three deuces for their highest-scoring period of the season.
Five Pirates connected from long range in the productive quarter, led by the five treys and 15 points from Donley.
Tyson Shutler, Boblitt, Nate Schaadt and Soper each added one triple in the 33-point barrage.
Boblitt knocked down three more triples in the final quarter, and Braeden Ackerman added one to punctuate the drubbing.
Bluffton's record improved to 5-7 overall after the lopsided victory. The Hornets fell to 5-4 with the defeat.
Soper nailed four treys to end up with 18 points. Nic Essinger added nine points.
C-R canned 15 baskets compared to a whopping 36 field goals by the Pirates. The long-range bombing hosts made 10 more three-pointers than the Hornets made in field goals overall.
The Hornets knocked down five shots from three-point territory, and canned 10 two-point baskets. They converted 11 of 17 attempts from the charity stripe (65 percent).
The Pirates hit on 11 shots inside the arc, and found the bottom of the net on 25 bombs from three-point land. Ironically, Bluffton converted just four of its eight tries (50 percent) from the charity stripe.
Bluffton committed just eight turnovers, while C-R made 17 miscues, including 11 in the first half.
C-R 46 (5-4)
White 0, Davis 1 0-0 3, Skulina 1 0-0 2, Bixler 1 0-0 2, Lee 4 4-6 12, Miracle 2 0-0 5, Kisseberth 1 0-0 2, Bacon 3 6-8 13, Garmatter 2 1-3 7.
Totals: 10-5/11-17/46. 3-pointers: Garmatter 2, Miracle 1, Davis 1.
Bluffton 101 (5-7)
Donley 11 0-0 31, T. Shutler 1 0-0 3, Kinn 1 0-0 3, Boblitt 8 0-0 23, Schaadt 1 0-2 3, Ackerman 1 1-2 4, Lovell 1 0-0 3, Soper 6 2-2 18, L. Shutler 1 0-0 2, Essinger 4 1-2 9, Lora 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 11-25/4-8/101. 3-pointers: Donley 9, Boblitt 7, Soper 4, Kinn 1, T. Shutler 1, Schaadt 1, Ackerman 1, Lovell 1.
1 2 3 4 F
C-R 5 15 12 14 46
Blf 21 24 33 23 101
Bluffton (1-3 NWC) plays at Spencerville (3-10, 0-3 NWC) Friday, January 22 in a league matchup. The Pirates are 1-4 on the road this season.
Bluffton (4-3 home) then hosts non-conference foe McComb (4-8) Tuesday, Jan. 26.
