January 13, 2018
By: Colton Steiner, sports information assistant
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team rallied from 16 down for a stunning 73-70 victory at Rose-Hulman on Saturday, Jan. 13. Bluffton won its second straight, improving to 7-8 overall and 4-4 in the Heartland Conference, while Rose slipped to 8-7 and 6-2 in the HCAC. The Beavers snapped RHIT's seven-game winning streak in the process.
The Engineers jumped out to a 6-0 start until sophomore ANDREW RENNER (Cairo/Bath) knocked down a triple to make it 6-3. Rose pushed it to 19-9 before freshman MAX GLASS (North Royalton) drained a jump shot at the 13:42 mark of the half. DEZMAN BROWN (Elyria) connected with a three-pointer, making the score 25-18. With 5:33 left in the half, the Beavers used a 6-0 run to cut the Fightin' Engineers lead down to 32-27. Rose closed with an 8-6 spurt for a 40-33 lead at the break.
Rose-Hulman came out and extended the lead to 16 just over six minutes into period two. However, the Beavers answered with an 8-0 spurt to make the score 54-46 following an AARON RICH (Greenville) bucket. A three by Andrew Renner after an Engineer timeout cut the gap to 56-52 with under 10 minutes to go.
Bluffton continued its comeback as the Beavers outscored Rose-Hulman 9-1 to make it a one possession ballgame, 64-62, with 4:38 to play. The teams would trade baskets until the Beavers notched their first lead of the game after back-to-back jumpers by KEVIN CHRISTIE (Dayton/Bishop Fenwick) made the score 68-67 at the 2:30 mark.
After a Rose-Hulman three, ANDREW HUNTER (Arlington) answered with a triple of his own to give Bluffton a 71-70 advantage with just 48 seconds left in regulation. Kevin Christie sealed the 73-70 victory with a pair of makes from the charity stripe in the final seconds as Bluffton capped the comeback from 16 down against an Engineer squad that is second in the Heartland Conference.
Senior Kevin Christie hit 9-of-16 from the field and 8-for-9 at the line for a career-best 27 points! He also pulled down five rebounds and dished out three assists to go along with two steals. Andrew Renner drilled 3-of-5 from distance for 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Chipping in with nine points was Andrew Hunter, while Aaron Rich added seven counters and a career-high eight boards. Dezman Brown knocked down both of his triple tries for seven markers.
Bluffton hit 28-of-59 (47.5 percent) from the field, including 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from distance. The visitors pulled down four more rebounds (32-28) and Rose turned the ball over five more times (16-11). Bluffton took advantage of the RHIT miscues, scoring 15 more points off turnovers (26-11).
The Beavers return to the friendly confines of the Sommer Center on Wednesday, Jan. 17, when they welcome Manchester University. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-