By Molly Burnell, sports information assistant
November 29, 2005
BLUFFTON, Ohio -The Bluffton University men's basketball team (2-1) hosted Concordia University (3-2) on Tuesday, November 29, 2005. Both teams played two exciting halves of basketball with the Cardinals pulling out the win 63-62 in the final seconds of the game.
Bluffton and Concordia traded baskets in the first minutes of action until the Cardinals opened their largest lead of the first half when Casey Livingston put them up by six points with nine minutes to play in the first period. A layup by junior MICHAEL ANTHONY (Ohio City/Delphos St. John's) brought Bluffton to within two points (22-20) at the 4:57 mark. Tight defense by Bluffton and missed shots by the Cardinals kept the contest close for the remaining minutes of the first half. Senior SCOTT BERGMAN (Elmore/Woodmore) connected on a free throw to knot the game at 26 with less than two minutes left in the opening period. A Concordia layup by JARED ADAMSON gave the Cardinals the lead at halftime, 28-26.
The Beavers started out the second half slowly as Concordia hit three straight shots to open the second half and maintained a ten point lead until midway through the second period. Junior DAVID PATCH (Minster/Minster) sparked the Bluffton comeback with a layup that cut the Cardinal lead to eight points. Seniors DARREN CLARK (Plain City/Jonathan Alder) and ERIC SWEET (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) combined for six points as the Beavers sliced the Concordia lead to three points with seven minutes to play. The Cardinals fell into foul and turnover trouble in the last minutes and a Bergman three-pointer propelled Bluffton to within one point. Sweet knocked down two foul shots and Bergman connected on another long distance trey to give the Beavers a 58-57 lead with 2:39 left to play. Anthony drilled four shots from the charity stripe giving Bluffton a one point advantage with less than a minute left in the contest. A last-second putback by Adamson proved to be the difference as Concordia walked away with the 63-62 victory.
Bergman finished with a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds, including four of six shots from triple land. Sweet ended the game with 12 points and three rebounds. Anthony added 12 points, three boards and three assists. ERIC SCHWIETERMAN (St. Henry/St. Henry) dished out a team-high six assists and scored three points on the evening.
Bluffton will be back in action on Saturday, December 3 when it hosts the Adrian College Bulldogs as part of the Bluffton University Community Day doubleheader. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.