LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team got down early and was unable to dig out at Transylvania on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. The Pioneers improved to 17-5 overall and 12-3 in the Heartland Conference, while Bluffton slipped to 7-15 and 3-12 in the HCAC.
It was deja vu for the men on Wednesday night when Transy jumped out to a 14-2 lead just over five minutes into the first half. A Michael Stammen (Versailles) three-ball pulled the Beavers within seven (16-9) at the 12:30 mark. Three more points for Stammen and a Nevin Robson (Kenton/Hardin Northern) jumper trimmed the Pioneer lead to six points (24-18).
Another Robson jumper made it 26-20, but eight straight points for the home team pushed the lead to 34-20. Myles Thomas (Chicago, Ill./Leo) and Josh Crusey (Piqua) hit from outside the arc and Thomas got to the rack, however, Transy scored the final eight points of the half for a comanding 56-30 lead at the break.
The home Pioneers came out of the half with a 14-2 run for a 70-32 lead that forced Head Coach Seth Clark to call a timeout before the first media stoppage. Five consecutive Stammen markers made it 71-37, but Transy answered with another triple. Bluffton trailed by as many as 46 points in the second half before Crusey sparked the visitors. He hit a pair of triples on the way to 10 points in 10 minutes.
Stammen hit 7-of-11 for a team-high 19 points. Robson and Thomas both went for 11 points, while Crusey added his 10. Connor Martin (Holland/Springfield) led the way with five rebounds. Robson dished out three assists and was an efficient 4-of-6 from the field.
Bluffton hit 24-of-67 from the field (35.8 percent), while Transy was a red-hot 41-of-74 (55.4 percent). The Pioneers also hit 13-of-27 (48.1 percent) on triples, compared to only 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) for the visitors. Transylania hammered away to a 45-32 advantage on the boards and the Beavers turned it over four more times (17-13). The home team also dominated in the paint (48-26).
The Bluffton men are home for league-leading Anderson University on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m. as part of the Alumni Day festivities.
-BEAVERS-