NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team dropped an 84-69 decision at Manchester University on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. Manchester improved to 7-9 overall and 6-3 in the Heartland Conference, while Bluffton fell to 5-8 and 1-5 in the HCAC.
A Damian Davis (Bexley) jumper with 12 minutes to play in the opening stanza put Bluffton up 15-9. Three minutes later, Kegan Owen (Indianapolis, Ind./Greenwood) pushed it to eight points (25-17) when he hit from outside the arc. However, Manchester rallied the troops with a 16-4 spurt that gave the home team a 33-29 edge at the 4:53 mark. Eight points from Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) and another Owen trifecta helped the Beavers pull within three (43-40) at the break.
The lead changed hands four times during the first eight minutes of period two before a 15-4 Spartan run gave Manchester the lead for good. A couple Chad Frey (Lima/Bath) deuces kept the Beavers withing striking range (72-65), but a 12-0 home team jag put the game on ice as the Spartans opened a comfortable 84-65 lead with less than two minutes to play en route to the 84-69 victory.
Bruns led the way with 14 points on Wednesday night. Frey bucketed 10 on 5-of-8 shooting from the field. Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge), Michael Stammen (Versailles) and Owen all finished with nine counters. Bruns and Cosby, who is just six markers shy of 1,000 career points, both ripped down seven rebounds. Stammen and Mike Ketner (Minster) both dished out four assists, while Cosby picked up three steals.
Bluffton hit 28-of-60 from the field (46.7 percent), while Manchester went 31-of-58 (53.4 percent) thanks to a 6-of-6 night for backup Logan Willoughby who hit five triples on the way to 17 points in just 11 minutes. The Beavers pulled down six more rebounds (34-28), but they also turned it over five more times (15-10). Manchester cashed in with 25 points off those Bluffton miscues.
The Beavers will finally return to the Sommer Center on Saturday, Jan. 22, when they welcome HCAC-leading Hanover College. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. following the women's contest with the Panthers and the annual J. Denny Beaver beheading!
-BEAVERS-