BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's basketball team got career nights out of a pair of juniors on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. Bluffton moved to 4-6 following a 69-53 win over Grove City in the McDonald's Holiday Classic. Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) and Miguel Ringer (Cincinnati/Christian) put up 23 points and 20 points, respectively, just a night after Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) went off for a career-high 31 counters.
Bluffton trailed 10-2 and 17-8 before starting to turn the tide. Six straight points from senior Chad Frey (Lima/Bath) in just over a minute made it 17-14 Grove City at the 11:20 mark. Cosby and Bruns both knocked down jumpers before another Frey layin put Bluffton up 22-21. After trailing 29-24 at the 5:51 mark, the Beavers used a 14-2 jag to close out the half that included six points in the final 41 seconds as Bluffton took a 38-31 lead into the intermission.
Nine points from Bruns helped the home team open up a 53-41 spread with 12:40 to play. Bruns and Ringer continued to pour it on down the stretch and when Coby Bell (Logan) drilled a corner three with 27 ticks remaining, that was all she wrote as Bluffton notched a 69-53 victory over the Wolverines.
Ringer's 20 points and 10 boards added up to his third double-double of the season. He was 8-of-9 on field goals! Bruns scored a career-high 16 points on Wednesday night and then immediately torched that with 23 points on a blistering 9-of-12 shooting display. His eight rebounds also matched a career high. Frey scored eight and pulled down a career-high six rebounds.
Bluffton turned it over just 10 times and dominated the paint with a 44-22 advantage. The visitors pulled down one more rebound (41-40). The Beavers were 28-of-60 (46.7 percent) from the field, but just 3-for-15 (20 percent) from distance and 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) at the line.
The men will jump right back into action on Saturday, Jan. 1 (New Year's Day) when Anderson University comes to town for a Heartland Conference showdown. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. in the Sommer Center.
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