TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team battled Rose-Hulman to the end, but the Fightin' Engineers held on for a 77-66 victory on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. RHIT improved to 8-9 overall and 6-4 in the Heartland Conference, while Bluffton fell to 5-12 and 1-9 in the league.

A pair of Trey Clemons (Mainville/Little Miami) buckets put the visitors up 4-2 just over two minutes into the game. When Sihr Sumner (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) found Josh Crusey (Piqua) for a three-ball, the Beavers led 9-7 at the 13:10 mark. Connor Martin (Holland/Springfield) broke up an 8-2 Rose spurt with a chip shot set up by Myles Thomas (Chicago, Ill./Leo).

Bluffton was trailing 22-14 when Thomas got to the rack and Matt Ray (Indianapolis, Ind./Herron) followed with a make from distance, trimming the Rose lead to 22-19 with just under four minutes to play in the half. Ian Snelling (Erlanger, Ky./Dixie Heights) dialed long distance and Clemons knocked down a pair at the line, but RHIT took a 31-24 lead into the break.

A Ray trifecta made the score 38-32 Rose at the 17:34 mark. He followed with a pair of foul shots and Snelling hit from outside the arc, pulling Bluffton within three (43-40) just over four minutes into the second half. It was a five-point game (47-42) after Martin split a pair at the charity stripe, but Rose responded with a 9-4 run that gave the home team a 56-46 advantage at the 7:37 mark.

Rose led by as many as 16 points before a Snelling trifecta cut into the deficit. The Engineers finished it off at the line, taking down the visiting Beavers by a 77-66 final.

Ray went 3-of-7 from distance for a team-high 17 points. Stammen finished with a dozen markers and three assists. Snelling tabbed a double double with 12 points and a team-high 10 boards. Chipping in with 10 points and nine rebounds was Martin.

Bluffton struggled to a 33.3 percent shooting afternoon, going 19-of-57 from the field. The Beavers were only 7-of-34 (20.6 percent) on triples, but they hit 21-of-27 (77.8 percent) at the line. The visitors pulled down three more rebounds (44-41), however, they also turned it over five more times (15-10).

The Bluffton men will kick off three straight home games when they welcome Earlham College for a 7:30 matchup on Wednesday, Jan. 24.

-BEAVERS-