January 23, 2002

Bluffton College led for the middle 20 minutes of the game, but a visiting Manchester College squad took the lead for good with four minutes left to play and wrapped up a 99-93 win over the Beavers Wednesday night in Founders Hall.

Both offenses lit up the scoreboard in the second half as the two teams combined for 105 points in the final 20 minutes. Bluffton attempted a season-high 77 shots from the field, including a season-high 26 3-pointers.

Both teams were whistled for a plethora of fouls, as well. Bluffton's 28 fouls were their most of the season, while Manchester committed 29 personals themselves. Both teams faired well at the free throw line, as Bluffton was 22-for-29 and Manchester was 27-for-38.

Bluffton sophomore Michael Kingsley's 3-pointer with 8:33 left in the first half gave BC their biggest lead of the game at 11 points. Kingsley nailed four treys in the game and finished with a season-high 18 points.

Manchester trailed by just one point at halftime, 44-43, but a 9-1 run by Bluffton in the second half built the Beavers' lead up to 66-57 with 12:56 left to play. The Spartans battled back to regain the lead at 81-80 with 4:06 left to play and didn't give up the lead the rest of the way.

Junior Mike Leimeister led Bluffton's second half scoring binge with 16 points and finished with a game-high 22 points. He added a team-high 11 rebounds to notch the second double-double of his career.

Junior Derek DeNero added 20 points for BC, while senior Rod Overmyer scored 13 and freshman Gabe Denning chipped in 11.

Bluffton (7-12, 0-9 HCAC) turned the ball over a season-low nine times in the game, but Manchester (12-7, 6-2) took a 53-41 rebounding advantage and blocked six shots.

Bluffton will return to Founders Hall on Saturday for a 3:00 game against HCAC foe Mount St. Joseph. The Annual Alumni game will precede the varsity contest.