BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men fell behind 18-6 just over five minutes into the game and the Beavers were unable to recover as Transylvania left the Sommer Center with a 77-66 victory on its resume. Bluffton fell to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the Heartland Conference, while the Pioneers moved to 4-2 and 1-2 in the conference.

Junior Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) hit his second bucket of the game and season at the 11:54 mark, pulling Bluffton within nine (22-13) as the Beavers tried to stay within striking distance. The visitors pushed their lead to as many as 17 midway through the opening half, but Bluffton made it an 11-point game at the break thanks to five straight counters by Kegan Owen (Indianapolis, Ind./Greenwood) to end the half.

Buckets by Nolan Finch (Toledo/Cardinal Stritch) and Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) followed by a Michael Stammen (Versailles) triple made it 47-39 Transy at the 15:57 mark of the second half. It was still a game with Bluffton down 57-45 following a pair of Cosby makes from the charity stripe before the visitors iced it with a 14-5 run that made the score 71-50 with just over five minutes to play. A Mike Ketner (Minster) trifecta and four Damian Davis (Bexley) freebies helped make the final score look respectable as Transylvania took round one with a convincing 77-66 victory.

Cosby paced the Beavers with 18 points and three assists. Owen saw his first significant action at Bluffton and got it done with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Stammen hit for eight points.

Transylvania pulled down five more rebounds (30-25) and they cashed in with 10 more points in the paint (38-28). Bluffton turned it over 13 times, compared to 12 miscues for the visitors.

Bluffton will be on the road next Saturday, Dec. 18, when the Beavers travel to Mount St. Joseph. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. in Cincinnati.

-BEAVERS-