By Ben Risinger, sports information director
January 25, 2005
The Bluffton University men's basketball team (10-7, 3-3 HCAC) picked up two wins in the Heartland Conference last week. The Beavers defeated Mount St. Joseph on the road 70-60 and beat Anderson University 92-81 in Founders Hall. The two HCAC victories along with the non-conference win over Marygrove College give the Beavers a three game win streak. This week the team will be back in action on Jan. 26 when they travel to longtime rival Defiance College (7:30 p.m. tip off). Bluffton will then be back at home on Jan. 29 when they host Hanover College (3 p.m. tip off).
Bluffton will host Take a Kid to the Game Day on Saturday, Jan. 29. Any child age 14 and under will receive free admission and special prizes with the purchase of an adult ticket ($3). Log on to the Bluffton sports website at www.blufftonbeavers.com for more information on the event.
Bergman named Heartland Conference Player-of-the-week
Junior Scott Bergman (Elmore/Woodmore) was named the Heartland Conference's men's basketball player-of-the-week for the week ending Jan. 23. Bergman also received player-of-the-week honors earlier this season on Jan. 9 for his effort against Hanover College.
Bergman set a new school record on Jan. 22 as he posted 50 points in the Beavers defeat of Heartland Conference foe Anderson University. He finished the contest with seven three pointers and went 12-of-17 from the field and 19-of-20 from the free throw line. In the contest Bergman also grabbed down team high eight rebounds and two assists. He broke the former Bluffton record of 46 points in a game held by Jamie Yount that was set vs. Goshen College in the 1994-95 season. Bergman ended the game one point away from breaking the Heartland Conference single game record of 51 points.
On Jan. 17 in Bluffton's win over Marygrove College Bergman scored 13 points and had five assists, three rebounds and three steals. Two days later on Jan. 19 he posted a game high 23 points and had five rebounds and three assists in the Beavers win over HCAC opponent Mount St. Joseph.
"Scoring 50 points in a college basketball game is truly an outstanding accomplishment in itself," head coach Guy Neal said. "In the flow of a hard fought game he scored in an unselfish way to fit in with the whole team concept. It's unbelievable to think that he scored what he did as he was marked by their (Anderson's) defense coming into the game."
Bergman currently leads Bluffton University and the Heartland Conference in scoring with a 22.4 points per game average.
Bluffton University 70, Mount St. Joseph 60
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's basketball team (9-7, 2-3 HCAC) defeated Mount St. Joseph (9-6, 3-2 HCAC) 70-60 on Jan. 19.
The Beavers started off the evening very well as they led the game 22-11 with seven minutes left in the first half. Mount St. Joseph gave a good run for the remainder of the period as they squeezed Bluffton's lead and found themselves down by only three points, 28-25 at halftime.
The score remained tight for in the second half as the Beavers found their lead diminished to one point, 48-47 with nine minutes left. Coach Guy Neal then called a quick thirty second timeout to calm his team's nerves. After the timeout Bluffton went on a 7-1 run to regain the lead 55-48 and never looked back. The Beavers would work the floor for the final six minutes to come away with the win 70-60.
Leading both teams in scoring on the night was junior Scott Bergman (Elmore/Woodmore) with 23 points, five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Michael Anthony (Ohio City/Delphos St. John's) ended the Beaver double figure scoring with 17 points. Freshman P.J. Juenger (Loveland/Archbishop Moeller) pulled down a team-high five boards in the contest.
The Beavers shot 49 percent (26-of-53) for the contest compared to the Lions 38 percent (20-of-52) shooting. Bluffton won on the battle of the boards with 36 rebounds to the Mount's 31.
Bluffton University 92, Anderson University 81
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's basketball team (10-7, 3-3 HCAC) defeated conference foe Anderson University (8-9, 1-5 HCAC) 92-81 on Jan. 22 in Founders Hall.
Junior Scott Bergman (Elmore/Woodmore) had an outstanding game as he broke the Bluffton single-game scoring record with 50 points (career high). He broke the former record of 46 points held by Jamie Yount that was set vs. Goshen College in the 1994-95 season. Bergman was also one point away from tying the Heartland Conference single-game record of 51 points set in 1996. Bergman also grabbed down a team high eight rebounds.
Junior Eric Sweet (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) ended the Beaver double digit scoring with 16 points. Junior Simeon Talley (Columbus/Centennial) posted seven points on the game. Sophomore Eric Schwieterman (St. Henry/St. Henry) led the team with four assists and two steals. Senior Nathan Chivington (Trenton/Miami East) grabbed down a career high seven rebounds.
The game did not start out in favor of the Beavers as Anderson held the lead for the entire first half. The score heading into the locker rooms would be Anderson 41, Bluffton 37. The start of the second half looked much better as Bluffton would use the first ten minutes to squeeze the Raven lead to three points three times. Anderson would use Beaver turnovers and foul shots to expand their lead to ten once again. Bluffton would not give up though as they tied the game for the first time with five minutes left to go off of a Schwieterman jumper (72-72). The Beavers then led for the rest of the contest to take the win by eleven points, 92-81.
Bluffton University shot 48 percent (27-of-56) for the contest compared to Anderson's 45 percent (31-of-68). Bluffton led the game in rebounds with 36 to Anderson's 31 boards. The Beavers went 31-of-34 from the free throw line as Anderson went 14-of-21 from the charity stripe.
Leading the Beavers on the season
HCAC team statistics
The Beavers currently rank second in the HCAC in total field goal percentage at .463 percent (430-of-929) and third in both free throw percentage (.715 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage at .370 percent. The team continues to rank second in assists (265), fourth in steals (138) and third in assist/turnover ratio at 1.24.
Individual statistical leaders
Scott Bergman leads both the Beavers and Heartland Conference in scoring with a 22.4 points per game average (380 total points). Bergman holds the top spot in the HCAC in 3-pointers made with 50 for the year. Bergman also ranks fourth in the HCAC in steals (30), 12th in assists with 43 and 13th in rebounding with 88 boards (second on team). Eric Sweet ranks second on the squad in points per game with a 12.0 average (16th in HCAC). Sweet currently ranks second in the conference in total field goal percentage with a .591 mark (75-of-127). He leads Bluffton in rebounding with 89 boards which places him at 12th in the HCAC and has posted 28 blocks (second in HCAC). Michael Anthony posts a 11.1 points per game average (18th in HCAC). He owns a .831 free throw percentage (49-of-59) to lead the Beavers and rank fourth in the conference. In total field goal percentage Anthony sits at .496 percent (65-of-131) to place him at 14th in the HCAC. Eric Schwieterman leads Bluffton with 48 assists (10th in HCAC).