RICHMOND, Ind. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team led by as many as 14 points early in the second half, but Earlham rallied for a 76-68 victory on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. The Quakers improved to 9-10 and 5-7 in the Heartland Conference, while Bluffton fell to 5-15 and 1-11 in the HCAC.

The home team went up 7-0 less than two minutes in before a 14-7 Beaver splurge knotted the game at 14-14 thanks to a couple Mike Ketner (Minster) triples. Bluffton continued to surge, going up 29-19 at the 6:29 mark when Nolan Finch (Toledo/Cardinal Stritch) followed up a Chad Frey (Lima/Bath) jumper with a deuce of his own. The Beaver defense was on point in the opening stanza, limiting the Quakers to 27 points as Bluffton led by 11 at the break after Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) converted a two-pointer.

Another Ketner bomb made it 41-27 just 13 seconds into the second frame, giving the Beavers their largest lead of the game. Unfortunately, the tide turned in a hurry when Earlham responded with a quick 13-2 run that pulled the Quakers within three. A Frey layup pushed it back to five before another EC run put the Quake show up 55-53 at the 10:27 mark.

Finch tried to quell the home team, but Earlham went up 67-57 with 4:46 to play. Cosby scored eight straight for the visitors and Ketner hit a late three, however, the Quakers did what they needed to do in order to cash out with their 76-68 HCAC victory.

Cosby led the way with 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field. He also notched his 7th career double-double with a game-high 11 boards. Ketner found his stroke, hitting 5-of-7 from the field, including a career-high four trifectas, for 16 points. Frey chipped in with seven markers, while Michael Stammen (Versailles) dished out a career-best five dimes. 

The Beavers were outstanding from the field, hitting 28-of-50 for 56.0 percent. They knocked down 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Bluffton turned it over seven more times (12-5) and the Quakers pulled down three more rebounds. Earlham was rock solid at the stripe, converting 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) freebies. 

Bluffton is back in the Sommer Center for an Alumni Day matchup with Franklin College when the Beavers next hit the hardwood. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022.

-BEAVERS-