By: Ethan Stearns, sports information assistant
FRANKLIN, Ind. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team lost a road conference matchup with the Franklin College Grizzlies on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. The men fell to 5-18 overall and 3-13 in the conference. Franklin improved to 13-10 and 9-7 in the HCAC.
The Beavers were up for a tough battle and traded bucket for bucket with their opponents in the first half, eventually taking a 32-28 lead into the break. Cam Rogers (Cincinnati/Cincinnati Christian) was hitting everything in the first period, scoring 14 points and going 4-of-4 from deep!
Michael Stammen (Versailles) got the ball rolling for his squad, scoring a nice layup after weaving through the defense. The Grizzlies responded with a 7-0 run, but Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) drilled a triple to stop the bleeding and Nevin Robson (Kenton/Hardin Northern) followed with a bunny.
The end of the period was very exciting as Rodgers rattled off eight points around a pair of freebies from Bruns. The play of the half came when William Layfield (West Chester/Lakota West) pulled down an offensive rebound and kicked to Rodgers for a buzzer-beating trey to put the visitors up, 32-28, going into the final stanza.
The second half was very high energy and full of scoring runs from both squads, but ultimately the home team was able to pull out the victory, defeating the Beavers by four points. The Cincinnati Christian tandem of Miguel Ringer and Rodgers got it going over the final 20 minutes, combining for 18 points. Ringer was all over the glass, scoring three times after grabbing offensive rebounds. Freshman Brady Wheeler (Lima/Shawnee) hit a tough step-back jumper. Despite an amazing effort, Bluffton would eventually fall, 63-59, after Franklin scored the final five points.
Rodgers had the best game of his Bluffton career, scoring a team and career-high 23 points while pulling down five rebounds! Ringer maintained his strong paint presence, scoring 12 tallies of his own and adding a team-high eight caroms. Stammen led his team in assists with five and he added nine points of his own.
The visitors hit 21-of-50 (42 percent) from the field, compared to Franklin's 19-for-52 (36.5 percent). The Beavers were feeling it from deep, going 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) while Franklin converted 8-of-23 (34.8 percent). Bluffton also won the battle on the boards, 34-27.
Bluffton will board the bus again on Tuesday, Feb. 14, when the Beavers head west to Manchester University for game two of the season-ending three-game road swing. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-