By: Nathan Zuercher, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men lost another tough one Saturday night, falling to the Anderson University Ravens for the second time in 27 hours. While it was tied with 2:33 to play, the Ravens finished on a 6-2 spurt for the 75-71 victory. The Beavers fell to 10-3 following their third straight setback, while the Ravens improved to 7-3.
Senior Ronnie James (Benedictine/Cleveland) had a nice senior night showing, scoring six for the Beavers in the first half on 3-of-5 shooting and he also handed out three assists. Backcourt mate Jameel Cosby (Kenton Ridge/Springfield) helped along the way, scoring seven points for the home team. Big man AJ Kenney (Marion/Rivel Valley) came off the bench and had eight of his own in the first thanks to his deft touch around the rim. Heading into the half the game was tied up at 31 apiece after Anderson went on a 15-8 run over the final six minutes.
James kept right on pace in half number two, netting another seven points and making a huge defensive impact for the Beavers. Cosby scored 11 in the stsnza, shooting 4-of-7 from the field and knocking down a triple. Freshman guard Damian Davis (Bexley) played a huge role providing a spark for the Beavers off the bench, scoring seven points and pushing the tempo.
Ethan Stearns (Watkins Memorial/Pataskala) also added nice minutes off the bench, hitting a big three-ball late in the game. While the Beavers stayed right with the Ravens, they could not get over the hump in the final seconds. The Beavers lost their third straight with a score of 75-71.
The double-digit scorers for the Beavers were Cosby (18), Kenney (14), James (13) and Davis (11). James was the high assists' man with a career-high eight dimes and the leading rebounder was Cosby with six caroms. Brown came up with a career-high five steals.
Ronny Williams had a game with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-for-8 from deep for the Ravens.
Bluffton led in paint scoring (36-28) as the Beavers hit 28-of-54 (51.9 percent) from the field. Anderson was a red-hot 9-of-20 (45.0 percent) from distance and the Ravens pulled down one more board (28-27) than the home team.
The Beavers will try to get back on track next Friday night at home against Transylvania University. Tip-off- with the Pioneers is slated for 6 p.m. in the Sommer Center.
-BEAVERS-
