BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men finished off a busy day of basketball in the Sommer Center with a thrilling 86-82 win over Adrian College on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. Bluffton improved to 3-6 on the season, while Adrian slipped to 1-9 overall.
Bluffton trailed 7-5 when Kegan Owen (Indianapolis, Ind./Greenwood) and Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) drained back-to-back triples, putting the home team up 11-9 at the 15:33 mark of the first half. Three-pointers by Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) and Owen made it 17-12 in favor of the good guys. A Cosby bomb followed by two more Owen trifectas and a Chad Frey (Lima/Bath) bucket knotted the score at 36 apiece with 2:47 to play in the half. Cosby scored twice and junior Mike Ketner (Minster) converted a pair of freebies with 36 seconds on the clock as Bluffton led 42-39 at the break.
The home was up by four early in the second half and then trailed by five with 11:44 to play before a four-point play from Bruns helped the Beavers take a 59-57 lead when Miguel Ringer (Cincinnati/Christian) converted a putback midway through the final period. A Cosby three made it 67-63 at the 7:16 mark and Bluffton never trailed again. Four straight Ringer points gave Bluffton a 73-66 lead and when Cosby drilled a triple with 3:03 to play it was 78-70 in favor of the Beavers. Adrian was within three twice in the final 1:48, but Bluffton did just enough at the stripe to walk away with an 86-82 win on Wednesday night.
Cosby went 12-of-26 from the field for a career-high 31 points! He also notched his 5th career double double with a game-high 11 boards while hitting 4-of-8 from deep. Bruns tallied a career-best 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while Owen was a perfect 4-of-4 outside the arc for 12 points. Ketner and Ringer made it five men in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Owen just missed out on his first double double with a career-high nine rebounds. He also dished out a career-best five dimes. Frey picked up a career-high four steals.
Bluffton hit 31-of-65 from the field for 47.7 percent, including a blistering 12-for-23 (52.2 percent) from distance. The Beavers struggled to a 12-of-21 (57.7 percent) night at the line. Bluffton pulled down four more rebounds (38-34) and both teams turned it over 16 times. Adrian dominated in the paint with a 56-36 advantage thanks to a 20-5 edge on fast break points.
Grove City posted a slim 84-72 victory over Miami-Hamilton after leading the Harriers 39-15 at halftime.
Bluffton will tip off with Grove City at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 30, in the Sommer Center as the McDonald's Classic comes to a close. Miami-Hamilton and Adrian meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
-BEAVERS-
