By Bill Hanefeld Jr., sports information director
December 3, 2005

BLUFFTON, Ohio -The Bluffton University men's basketball team (3-1) rebounded from a tough loss to Concordia on Tuesday night to defeat a talented Adrian College Bulldogs (2-2) squad by a final score of 73-55 during the opening game of the Bluffton Community Day doubleheader in front of a raucous Founders Hall crowd on December 3, 2005.

A BILLY COLLINS JR. three-pointer gave Adrian their only lead of the game 3-2 before senior SCOTT BERGMAN (Elmore/Woodmore) answered with a triple of his own to give the Beavers a 5-3 lead two and a half minutes into the contest. Bluffton opened its largest advantage of the first half with 15 minutes to play when Bergman hit his second long-distance trifecta in as many tries to put the Beavers on top 15-5. Five Bluffton turnovers over the next four minutes allowed the Bulldogs to claw within three points (15-12) before an ERIC SWEET (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) block led to a DARREN CLARK (Plain City/Jonathon Alder) triple that gave the Beavers a 20-12 advantage. Adrian continued to pressure the Beavers defensively and narrowed the gap to two points with six minutes to play in the opening stanza. Senior JOE DUZAN(Dublin/Scioto) hit a pair of free throws near the end of the half to give Bluffton a 32-26 lead. Sweet knocked down three free throws to give Bluffton a 35-28 margin at the break.

Bluffton controlled the tempo throughout the second half and continued to increase its lead as Adrian struggled to knock down shots. Junior TOM HEIL (Stow/Archbishop Hoban) hit from behind the arc to give the Beavers a 52-35 cushion with 13 minutes to play in the contest. Adrian narrowed the gap to 10 points midway through the second half when COREY SMITHdrained a three-pointer but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get. The Beavers outscored their rivals from Michigan 16-8 over the final nine minutes to win the Community Day contest 73-55.

Sweet put up a monster game for Bluffton as he came up one block short of a triple-double (20 points, 12 boards and nine blocks). Clark and Bergman also hit double digits as they tallied 12 and 11 points respectively. Heil scored a career-high nine points on 3-5 shooting from outside the arc. The Beavers lit up Adrian as they hit 56 percent (23-41) for the game, including 8-13 from downtown.

Bluffton will return to action on Wednesday, December 7 when it hosts the Hiram College Terriers. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Founders Hall.