February 27, 2007
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BLUFFTON, Ohio - Senior MIKE ANTHONY (Ohio City/Delphos St. John's) capped off his superb career at Bluffton University by being named the Heartland Conference Most Valuable Player for the 2006-07 season. Senior ERIC SCHWIETERMAN (St. Henry/St. Henry), junior NATE OVERMYER (Payne/Wayne Trace) and sophomore COLT CUNNINGHAM (Powell/Worthington Christian) were all named honorable mention All-HCAC for their efforts on the hardwood this season. Anthony, whose steady play over the past four years helped Bluffton to 59 wins, is the second Beaver in three years to be named Player of the Year in the HCAC. He follows Scott Bergman who earned MVP honors following his junior season in 2004-05. Anthony picked up the MVP honor after being named honorable mention All-HCAC the past two years. In conference games, Mike ranked second in scoring with a 17.6 points per game average. He led the HCAC in free throw percentage (89.5 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (52.9 percent). For the season, Anthony paced the Beavers with 16.7 ppg and 4.8 rebounds per game. |
| For his career, Anthony tallied 1,183 points, placing him 16th on the all-time scoring list at Bluffton. He hit 400-of-787 field goal attempts (50.8 percent), including 82-of-90 (43.2 percent) from outside the arc. His career free throw percentage of 83.8 percent (301-359) makes him the best free throw shooter ever at Bluffton University. He hauled in 408 rebounds, dished out 161 assists and picked up 87 steals while finishing his career with a 12.2 ppg scoring average. |
| Senior point guard Eric Schwieterman picked up his first All-HCAC award after a stellar career in which he was a three-year starter for the Beavers. He had his best scoring season, finding the hoop for 231 points (8.9 ppg). Although diminutive in stature, Schwieterman ripped down 98 boards (3.8 rpg) and picked up 34 steals. His 89 assists this year were the third most in the HCAC while his outstanding 2.78 assists-to-turnover ratio was the best in the conference by nearly one assist. His 313 career assists makes him the second-most prolific passer ever at Bluffton University. |
| Junior transfer Nate Overmyer earned honorable mention All-HCAC acclaim following his first year with the Beavers after two seasons at Ohio Northern. Overmyer did much of his damage from beyond the arc, drilling 51-of-139 three point attempts (36.7 percent). He was equally adept at the charity stripe, making 32-of-38 free throws for 84.2 percent on the season. For the year, Overmyer pulled down 42 rebounds, dropped 21 dimes and picked up 16 steals. He finished the season with 219 points (8.4 ppg). |
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Sophomore guard Colt Cunningham was named honorable mention All-HCAC after just his second season in a Bluffton uniform. He hit 111-of-256 shots from the field (43.4 percent), including 36-of-106 from long range (34.0 percent). At the charity stripe, Cunningham sank 66-of-82 attempts for 80.5 percent. He pulled down 41 rebounds, dished out 30 assists and finished second on the team with 324 points (12.5 ppg). |
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The Beavers, who finished the year 18-8, 10-6 in the HCAC, matched the school mark of 18 wins set by the 1984-85 squad under the direction of Glenn Snyder. For the second consecutive season, Bluffton won a school-record 11 straight games. Bluffton tied for second place in the HCAC with NCAA automatic qualifier Transylvania University and reached the conference semi-finals for the third year in a row before falling to the Pioneers at Franklin College, 78-66. -BEAVERS- |