By: Brandy Bidlack, sports information assistant
January 26, 2008
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's basketball team was defeated by HCAC foe Rose-Hulman, on Saturday, January 26, 2008, by a final score of 63-60 in Founders Hall. Bluffton dropped to 11-7 overall and 5-4 in conference play while the Engineers improved to 8-10 overall and 4-5 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
JOSH EICHAR (North Baltimore/North Baltimore) picked up a steal and converted on the other end to give Bluffton the first two points of the game. A layup by Justin Rufenacht (Wauseon/Pettisville), thanks to an assist from AARON TAYLOR (Antwerp/Antwerp), put the Beavers up, 5-2. JORDAN POTHAST (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) added two more points for Bluffton following a dish from Rufenacht.
A jumper by BEN SHINDELDECKER (Ohio City/Crestview) upped the Beavers' lead to four points with 12:36 left in the first half. A drive by Taylor and an Eichar layin gave Bluffton a six-point lead. Taylor came away with the steal and chipped in two more points to make it a six-point game with less than nine minutes on the clock.
A Bluffton turnover with 14 seconds left in the opening half allowed RHIT to close the gap to one point, 30-29, at the break.
The second half started with a block by Rufenacht and a Josh Eichar jumper. NATE OVERMYER(Payne/Wayne Trace) buried a deep triple from the left corner and sophomore CHRIS SINGLETON (Ada/Ada) cut the deficit to three points, 42-39, with his jumper at the 13:13 mark.
Overmyer stole the ball and Eichar put the offensive board up and in to knot the score at 45. Shindeldecker tied the game back up at 48 with his trey at the 8:06 mark of the second half. A jumper from COLT CUNNINGHAM (Powell/ Worthington Christian) gave the Beavers the lead, 53-52, with 4:13 remaining on the clock.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Taylor gave Bluffton a four-point lead with just over two minutes left in the game, but Rose-Hulman answered with a 7-0 run. Taylor retaliated with another drive, but the Engineers' methodical offense was too much as Rose-Hulman held on for the victory, 63-60.
The Beavers were led by Aaron Taylor with 15 points and three steals. Taylor was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 5-for-5 at the stripe. Josh Eichar grabbed a game-high five rebounds, snatched two steals, and had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in only 22 minutes of action. Colt Cunningham chipped in with 10 points. Justin Rufenacht and Ben Shindeldecker each added five points. NICK WILSON (Continental/Continental) finished with two blocks and three assists.
JARED MOORE led the Engineers with 16 ponits, five assists, four rebounds and one block. DANIEL LOWERS and RON GEORGE each hit for 13 points, while Lowers added four steals and six boards.
The Beavers hit 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) at the line, while the Engineers made 15-of-26 attempts (57.7 percent). Bluffton went 20-for-39 (51.3 percent) from the field, compared to a 23-for-47 (48.9 percent) shooting night by the Engineers. Each team made only two three-pointers during the contest. The Engineers pulled down two more boards than the Beavers, 28-26. Bluffton coughed it up 22 times, four more miscues than the visitors committed.
The Bluffton University men's basketball team will return to action on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, when the Beavers travel to face HCAC leader Defiance College. Tip time is slated for 7:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-