By Molly Burnell, sports information assistant
December 29, 2005
The Bluffton University men's basketball team (8-1) defeated the Indiana University East Pioneers 106-79 in the opening round of the McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Tournament. The 106 points scored by the Beavers is a new tournament record. Bluffton connected on 17-of-31 three-pointers to set a new Bluffton University men's basketball record for three-point field goals made in a game.
The Pioneers opened up the game with two quick jumpers by BOB BESHEARS and A.J. BUCHHOLZ to take a 4-0 lead. Senior DARREN CLARK (Plain City/Jonathan Alder) drained a three-pointer to put Bluffton on the board. SCOTT BERGMAN (Woodmore/Elmore) connected on one of his three treys at the 18-minute mark to give the Beavers a two point lead (6-4). Juniors ERIC SCHWIETERMAN (St. Henry/St. Henry) and MICHAEL ANTHONY (Ohio City/Delphos St. Johns) followed suit as they each hit a three-pointer to propel Bluffton to an 11 point lead (18-7) with 15 minutes to play in the half. Bluffton took an 18-point advantage (51-33) into the break.
The Beavers picked up where they left off as they started the second period with keen shooting and pressure defense. A Schwieterman three-point play, which followed a SWEET rafter rattling jam, extended the Bluffton lead to 27 points five minutes into the period. TOM HEIL(Stow/Archbishop Hoban) nailed a three-pointer as the Beavers continued their torrid shooting from long range. Both teams played solid defense over the next five minutes as the Pioneers outscored Bluffton 12-7 to cut the Beaver advantage to 18 at the nine minute mark. Sophomore PJ JUENGER (Loveland/Archbishop Moeller) hit a jump shot and connected on two foul shots to give the Beavers a 20-point advantage with six minutes to play. Bluffton drilled five more triples in the waning minutes of the contest to move into the finals with a record breaking 106-79 victory over the Pioneers.
Leading the Beavers on the evening was Bergman who scored a team-high 19 points. He also pulled down three rebounds and finished with two steals in limited action as the starters played only 15 minutes in the victory. Senior ERIC SWEET (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) poured in 17 points as he connected on all eight of his shots from the field. Sweet brought down three rebounds and dished out three assists on the evening as well. Juenger, seeing his first action on the season due to an ankle injury, scored a career-high 13 points, including 3-3 from three-point range and 2-2 at the charity stripe. Junior DAVID PATCH (Minster/Minster) recorded 12 points and led Bluffton with a team-high five rebounds.
The Beavers will be back in action on Friday, December 30, 2005 in the championship game of the McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Tournament when they tangle with Tiffin University. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.