November 28, 2006
HIRAM, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's basketball team used hot shooting and pressure defense to take down Hiram College, 94-74, on Tuesday, November 28, 2006. The Beavers won their fourth straight game as they improved to 5-1 on the season. The loss dropped the Terriers to 0-2.
Both teams struggled to find the hoop early on as the Beavers held a slim 8-7 lead four and a half minutes into the game. Senior point guard ERIC SCHWIETERMAN (St. Henry/St. Henry) found RICKY REUCHER (Toledo/Central Catholic) for a layup and NATE OVERMYER(Payne/Wayne Trace) for a triple to put the Beavers up, 13-7, with 15 minutes to play in the first half.
Hiram chipped away at the Bluffton lead and finally went ahead of the Beavers, 27-26, when MICHAEL MCDEVITT knocked down a pair of free throws at the 7:47 mark.
Senior DAVID PATCH (Minster/Minster) put the Beavers back on top when he started a three-point barrage with seven minutes to play in the opening stanza. Overmyer, who lit the Terriers up for 5-of-8 from long distance, drained back-to-back triples and PJ JUENGER(Loveland/Archbishop Moeller) gave the Beavers a six-point lead when he dialed from long distance with 3:15 on the clock.
MIKE ANTHONY (Ohio City/Delphos St. John's) and NICK WILSON (Continental/Continental) both hit a pair of free throws late in the half to push Bluffton's advantage to seven, 48-41, at the break.
Hiram started slowly in the second half as a COLT CUNNINGHAM (Powell/Worthington Christian) jumper and consecutive Anthony buckets gave Bluffton a 54-41 less than four minutes into the half.
The Beavers maintained their 11-point lead midway through the final stanza until IAN MCGUIRE keyed a six-point Terrier run with two baskets. Following a MIKE STALEY tip-in which trimmed the Bluffton advantage to five points, Anthony hit a layup and freshman ZACK KRAUS (Findlay/Findlay) picked off a Hiram pass and was rewarded at the other end with an assist from Eric Schwieterman. Senior TOM HEIL (Stow/Archbishop Hoban) knocked down the third of three straight Bluffton triples and Juenger followed with a layup which capped an 11-0 Bluffton run at the 2:13 mark.
Senior SAM SEGGERSON (Columbus/De Sales) capped the 94-74 victory for the Beavers with his free throw with 34 seconds left in the game.
The Beavers hit 34-of-62 from the field (55 percent), including 10-of-21 from outside the arc (48 percent). Hiram went 23-of-54 (43 percent) and turned the ball over 18 times compared to only 10 miscues for Bluffton. 12 Beavers scored in the contest as all 15 players who dressed saw action in the victory.
Five Beavers hit for double digits against the Terriers. Mike Anthony, who was 6-of-9 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 at the stripe, led the charge with 18 points and seven rebounds. Overmyer was 5-of-8 from downtown for 15 points off the bench. PJ Juenger missed only one of seven field goal attempts on his way to a 14-point, seven-rebound performance. Schwieterman knocked down 11 points and dished out a game-high nine assists which matched his career-high. Sophomore Nick Wilson was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 at the foul line for eight points.
Bluffton returns to action on Saturday, December 2, 2006, when it hosts pre-season Heartland Conference favorite Franklin College. Tip-off in Founders Hall is scheduled for 3 p.m.