March 5, 2008
| BLUFFTON, Ohio - Seniors NATE OVERMYER (Payne/Wayne Trace) and P.J. JUENGER(Loveland/Archbishop Moeller), along with junior COLT CUNNINGHAM (Powell/Worthington Christian) and sophomore JOSH EICHAR (North Baltimore/North Baltimore) were recently named honorable mention All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference by the coaches following the 2007-08 season |
| Senior P.J. Juenger, the lone senior to play all four years at Bluffton, had his best year offensively for the Beavers. Juenger, who was always a strong post defender, scored a career-best 8.4 points a game and pulled down 4.6 rebounds an outing. He was 64-of-145 from the field, including 21-of-40 from outside the arc for 52.5 percent. At the free throw line, Juenger knocked down 35-of-42 for 83.3 percent. Juenger finished his career with 421 points and 276 boards in 91 games at Bluffton. |
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Making his second appearance on the honorable mention All-HCAC team is senior Nate Overmyer. The senior with the quick trigger from long distance buried 62-of-153 attempts (40.5 percent) from behind the arc. Overmyer, who played two seasons at Bluffton after transferring from Ohio Northern, led the Beavers with 12.7 points per game. He was 105-for-243 (43.2 percent) from the field and 46-of-65 at the line (70.8 percent. In just two years, Nate eclipsed the 500-point mark with 537 points. Overmyer ended his career with 113 rebounds, 64 assists and 50 steals. |
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Junior guard Colt Cunningham also notched his second straight All-HCAC honor as he was again named honorable mention by the coaches. Cunningham was second in scoring for the Beavers with 293 points on 90-of-215 shooting from the field (41.9 percent). Although opponents geared up to stop Cunningham from getting clean looks at the basket, he still knocked down 27-of-88 shots from distance. He led the Beavers at the foul line, converting 86-of-99 attempts for 86.9 percent. Colt pulled down 61 rebounds and added 43 assists. He also surpassed the 500-point plateau this season and currently has 720 points, 127 rebounds and 100 assists for his career. |
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Despite never playing a minute for the Beavers' varsity squad as a freshman in 2006-07, Josh Eichar quickly moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore and was rewarded for his play at both ends of the court. While matching up with the best perimeter player each night, Eichar led the Beavers with 53 steals and 60 assists. He hit 48-of-88 from the field (54.5 percent) and 38-of-47 (80.9 percent) at the charity stripe. Eichar, Bluffton's starting point guard, tied senior forward P.J. Juenger for team-high rebounding honors with 102 caroms. For his efforts Eichar was named honorable mention All-HCAC. |
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Bluffton just missed out on qualifying for the Heartland Conference tournament, finishing with a record of 13-12 (7-9 HCAC) after making it to the semi-finals of the HCAC tournament the past three seasons. The 2007-08 Bluffton University men's basketball seniors have the distinction of being the winningest class ever at Bluffton. They finished with a record of 62-43 during the past four years for an overall winning percentage of .590. The winning percentage bested the class of 1968 which won 57 percent of their games and the 62 wins is three more than the previous best which the 2006-07 class finished with a year ago. A last-second shot by senior and McDonald's Holiday Tournament Most Valuable Player Nate Overmyer gave Bluffton the win over Ohio Dominican on Saturday, December 29, 2007. The Beavers collected their fourth consecutive title in the 10th Annual McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Tournament. The four straight championships made the 2007-08 class the first ever group of seniors to finish with a spotless 8-0 mark in the tournament hosted by Bluffton University -BEAVERS- |