By: Nathan Zuercher, sports information assistant

ANDERSON, Ind. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker on Friday, Feb. 12, at the hand of the Anderson University Ravens. The Beavers fought throughout the game to send it to overtime but the Ravens held on to defeat the Beavers 85-76. Bluffton falls to 10-2 on the season and Anderson moves to 6-3.

In the first half, the game went back and forth. Sophomore big man AJ Kenney (Marion/River Valley) played a giant role with senior captain Aaron Rich (Greenville) out of the lineup. Kenney tossed in 10 huge points in the first with two rebounds. Junior guard Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) scored five points and had two takeaways.

Sophomore guards Mike Ketner (Coldwater) and Ethan Stearns (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) came off the bench and made huge contributions in the first half. Ketner had six points while Stearns added four of his own as the two teams went to the break deadlocked at 37-37.

Kenney kept it rolling in the second stanza, scoring 15 big ones for the Beavers and grabbing another four rebounds. Stearns added three more to go along with a steal. Senior guard Dezman Brown (Elyria) drilled a three of his own. Cosby had four in half number two, but no points were bigger than the layup he hit with two seconds left in the game, tying the score 68-68 and sending it to overtime. The extra five minutes did not go in Bluffton's favor as Anderson outscored the visitors 17-8 for an 85-76 Raven victory.

The double-digit scorers for the Beavers were Kenney (30) and Brown (10). Kenney's 30 points tripled his previous (10) career-high! He also ripped down a career-high tying seven boards while blistering the nets with a ridiculous 14-of-18 shooting performance. Cosby tallied nine points and picked up three steals. Stearns also chipped in with seven points, three steals and two dimes. Senior Ronnie James (Cleveland/Benedictine) was the high assists' man with three helpers.

Anderson pulled down one more rebound (28-27) than the Beavers, but the Ravens also coughed it up one more time in a turnover-marred affair (22-21). Bluffton led the Ravens in 2nd chance points (15-9), while the home team outscored the Beavers 30-18 off turnovers.

The Beavers are back in action tomorrow night at home with the rematch slated for 7 p.m. following a Bluffton-Franklin volleyball double feature!

-BEAVERS-