By Takayla Gadberry, sports information alumna

The Bluffton University men's basketball team opened the 2022 McDonald's Holiday Tournament with a hard fought, 63-61 loss to the Miami Hamilton Harriers. The Beavers fell to 2-7 on the season, while the Harriers improved to 7-6.

Connor Martin (Holland/Springfield) started off the game for the Beavers with a bucket just under a minute in. The Harriers were neck and neck with Bluffton through the first five minutes before a 5-0 run put them up 9-4. Freshman Brady Wheeler (Lima/Shawnee) drained a triple to tie it back up, 9-9, just moments later. Four more shots for Miami Hamilton pushed them ahead 17-14 before a Michael Stammen (Versailles) trifecta tied it up at 17. An 13-2 run for the Harriers gave them a 30-19 lead with 5:28 left in the first half. Over eight minutes of Beaver offensive silence sent them into the locker room down 36-21 at the half.

The home team opened the second half with a 5-2 run, highlighted by a Kegan Owen (Indianapolis, IN/Greenwood) three-ball, to make it 40-26 at the 15:40 mark. Seven straight points for Bluffton cut the deficit to nine (40-31) before another seven straight pulled the home team within six (44-38). An offensive battle from both teams saw the Harriers up by eight (55-47) with just under five minutes left in regulation. Two buckets from senior Miguel Ringer (Cincinnati/Cincinnati Christian) followed by Owen and Stammen triples had the Beavers down by two with 17.8 seconds on the clock but it wouldn't be enough as Miami Hamilton held on for the 63-61 victory.

Stammen powered the Bluffton offense with 17 points followed by Owen and Wheeler with 11 apiece. Martin, Stammen, Owen, and Nevin Robson (Kenton/Hardin Northern) chalked up five boards each. Wheeler was one off their pace with four rebounds. Stammen also doled out a career-high nine assists!

The Harriers won the shooting battle, going 24-of-52 (46.2 percent) from the field and 3-of-10 (30 percent) from deep, compared to 24-of-58 (41.4 percent) overall and 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) from distance for the Beavers. Miami Hamilton also did better at the charity stripe, making 12-of-16 (75 percent) while Bluffton converted just 5-of-11 (45.5 percent).

The Beavers turned the ball over three more times (11-8) but tallied five more boards (36-31). The Harriers were the powerhouse in the paint with 32 points, compared to Bluffton's 24.

Bluffton will be back in action on December 29 for the consolation game of the holiday tournament. Tip-off against Bethany College from West Virgina is slated for noon. Miami-Hamilton and Asbury University will duke it out for the McDonald's championship at approximately 2 p.m.