By: Takayla Gadberry, sports information assistant
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team traveled to Transylvania University on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 for a matchup against the Pioneers. The Beavers dropped a 73-64 decision, snapping a school-record seven-game HCAC winning streak for the good guys. Bluffton slipped to 15-10 (11-7 HCAC) following the loss.
The Beavers started quickly with a 6-0 run. A triple from Zeddie Pollock (Mogodore) followed by an Andrew Renner (Cairo/Bath) layin pushed the Bluffton lead to 10 (17-7), forcing Head Coach Brian Lane to signal for a timeout. A 12-0 run for Transy that saw the home team bury four consecutive triples gave them a 19-17 lead before Renner answered back with a trifecta of his own to put the Beavers back on top, 20-19. Another run for the Pioneers tied the score up at 22 with 7:47 left in the half. A quick nine points for the visitors put them back up by seven (31-24) until seven straight points for Transy knotted the score up at 33 going into the half.
The Pioneers bucketed the first four points of the second half for a 37-33 lead. Renner drained a three before Isaiah Taylor (Yellow Springs) dropped a layup to give Bluffton the 40-39 advantage. The lead kept going back and forth before a Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) freebie tied it up at 43. An 8-5 run in favor of Transy made the score 51-48. A Cosby trifecta would pull the Beavers within one (52-51) but the Pioneers answered back with a triple of their own which made the score 55-51. Transy led by as many as 10 points with 2:24 to play. A layup from Taylor and a deep shot from Dezman Brown (Elyria) made the score 71-64 but it wasn't enough as the Beavers dropped their first game since January 25.
Leading the Beaver offense was Renner with 16 points. Taylor and Pollock were close behind with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Cosby and Brown tallied 10 markers apiece. Taylor led the defense with seven rebounds. Cosby and Renner pulled down six and five boards, respectively.
Bluffton connected on 24-of-47 (51.1 percent) shots from the field and 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from the arc compared to Transy's 22-of-56 (39.3 percent) and 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) from deep. The Beavers netted 8-of-10 (80 percent) from the charity stripe with the Pioneers making 17-of-20 (85 percent). Bluffton pulled down three more boards (31-28) but turned the ball over nine more times (16-7).
Bluffton finished in a tie with Hanover for 3rd place in the Heartland Conference. The Beavers earned the #4 seed and will travel to Transylvania University on Friday, Feb. 28, for the opening round of the HCAC Tournament. Bluffton will take on #5 seed Anderson University at 6 p.m. on Friday. The victor will face tourney host Transylvania on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 5 p.m.
-BEAVERS-