By: Jordon Bruner, sports information assistant
January 27, 2007
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak as it held off a late rally to defeat the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 62-53, on Saturday, January 27, 2007. Head coach Guy Neal reached the 200 career-win milestone as the Beavers improved to 14-5 on the season, 6-4 in Heartland Conference action.
The Engineers jumped to an early 8-4 lead behind the shooting of BRIAN BIBB who knocked down two treys in the first two minutes of the game.
After trading baskets for the next few minutes, sophomore AARON TAYLOR(Antwerp/Antwerp) scored four consecutive points to cap a 9-0 run by the Beavers as they grabbed a 22-20 lead with seven minutes to go in the first half.
Senior MIKE ANTHONY (Ohio City/Delphos St. John's) scored on a feed from freshman ZACK KRAUS (Findlay/Findlay) to give Bluffton a 30-28 advantage heading into the break.
Bluffton shot an incredible 65 percent from the field in the first half and also knocked down a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. The Engineers shot just 38 percent from the field, but did bury six shots from beyond the arc.
Rose-Hulman put together several runs in the second half to keep the game close, but the Engineers were unable to get over the hump as Bluffton consistently hit its shots down the stretch.
RON GEORGE dropped in a jumper to cap off an 8-2 run, helping the Engineers tie the game at 38 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game.
Bluffton answered that run with back-to-back trifectas by NATE OVERMYER (Payne/Wayne Trace) and Taylor to regain the lead. One possession later, Kraus scored off a dish from JOSIAH STOBER (Spencerville/Spencerville), making it an 8-0 run and giving the Beavers a 46-38 advantage.
Rose-Hulman matched that with an 8-0 run of their own to knot the game at 46 behind two consecutive three-pointers from LORENZO RICE and Bibb.
Taylor and Anthony each found the hoop over the next minute of play as Bluffton pushed its lead back up to four, 50-46, with eight minutes left in the game.
Several minutes later, another three by Bibb, his fourth of the night, pulled the Engineers within three, 54-51. This was as close as Rose-Hulman would get as the Beavers hauled in four consecutive offensive rebounds to control the clock for nearly three minutes. Bluffton finally nailed it down with just over a minute remaining when Anthony knocked down two free throws to push the lead to 58-51.
ERIC SCHWIETERMAN (St. Henry/St. Henry) and COLT CUNNINGHAM(Powell/Worthington Christian) each sank two free throws in the waning seconds of the game, helping Bluffton pull out a hard fought 62-53 victory.
Bluffton shot 58 percent from the field, going 22-of-38 on the game. From the free throw line, the Beavers were a perfect 14-of-14, while Rose-Hulman ended the game making two free throws on only four attempts.
Anthony led the Beavers in scoring as he dropped in 16, while also pulling down a game-high six boards. Schwieterman was the only other Beaver in double figures as he scored ten points. Overmyer scored all of his nine points on three-pointers, while Taylor and Cunningham chipped in with nine and eight points respectively.
The Beavers return to action on Wednesday, January 31, 2007, when they travel to the Karl Weaner Center to face bitter rival Defiance College in a Heartland Conference matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-