BLUFFTON – The Bluffton High School boys basketball team defeated visiting Northwest Conference foe Lincolnview 71-54 Friday night, January 24.
Blake Sommers led four Pirates in double figures with 15 points.
The Pirates improved to 10-4 overall and 2-2 in the NWC with the victory.
Lincolnview fell to 5-10 overall and 0-4 in NWC play with the defeat.
Bluffton led 16-14 after the first period. The Pirates maintained a narrow 31-28 margin at halftime.
Bluffton outscored the Lancers 20-13 in each of the last two quarters to pull away and win by 17.
Guard Marek Donaldson scored a dozen points. Carter Hohenbrink netted a season-high 11 points. Kain Wright also tallied 11 markers.
Bean Ginther added eight points, while Landen Worcester contributed seven to the balanced Bluffton offensive attack.
OTTAWA- The Bluffton High School swim teams finished a strong second at a six-team meet in the Putnam County YMCA at Ottawa on Thursday, January 23.
Margaretta swept to first place in all three team categories. They won the combined team title, and captured first in both the boys and girls standings.
The balanced victors scored 211 combined points, including 106 boys and 105 girls points.
VAN BUREN – The Bluffton High School wrestling team finished a strong fourth at the 31-team Van Buren Invitational last Friday and Saturday, January 17-18.
Woodmore won the two-day event with 167 points, followed by Defiance Tinora (162.5), Swanton (160.5) and Bluffton (148). Allen East was fifth with 142.
Pirate junior Evan Grothause finished second in the 190 lb. weight class. He was seeded third and after a first round bye, won his first match by pin at 4:57. He then took a 12-1 majority decision in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, he won by technical fall 15-0. In the title bout, he lost to top-seeded junior Michael Seeger of Woodmore, 9-3.
