The Thunder opened with a 7-0 run to start the first half until a jumper from STEVE SWICK(Elida) put the Beavers on the scoreboard. A minute later, NICK LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) drained a trey, pulling Bluffton within two. A layin from Lee tied the game at seven with 12:50 to play in the half.

 

With 10:48 on the clock, JOSH EICHAR (North Baltimore) found ORRY MOUGHLER (Butler, Ind./Eastside) behind the arc. After a brief Trine rally, CHRIS SINGLETON (Wapakoneta/Ada) nailed a pair of freebies which closed the gap to two. With less than a minute remaining in the first half, two Beaver layins made it 27-21 in favor of Trine at the break.

 

Just three minutes into the second period, senior guard JORDAN POTHAST (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) added two from the charity stripe. After a pair of BRENT FARLEY (Lima/Shawnee) free throws, Pothast drained a triple to put the Beavers up, 29-27. At the 13:45 mark, Eichar picked up a steal and converted the layin at the other end. It sparked the Beavers as JOSH FISHER (Rockford/Parkway) hit a jumper, followed by a layup from Farley. An 18-2 jag by the Beavers that spanned the final minute of the first half and eight minutes of the second stanza made the score 35-29 in favor of Bluffton with 12:34 to play in the game.

 

Trine picked up the pace at the five-minute mark when it tied the game at 40. Despite two jumpers from Farley and a pair of NATE HECKELMAN (Norwalk) charity tosses, the Thunder proved to be too much as Trine defeated the Bluffton men by a final tally of 50-46.

 

The Beavers were once again led by sophomore Brent Farley who went 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-for-8 at the line for a total of 15 points. Farley also finished with seven assists, two blocks and a steal. Jordan Pothast chipped in seven points and fellow senior Josh Eichar added five steals and dished out three assists in the loss. Lee had five points and grabbed a career-high 10 boards. Fisher contributed five counters for the Beavers.

 

Bluffton went 16-of-39 (41 percent) from the field, while Trine hit 20-of-55 (36.4 percent). Both teams drained four triples, but the Beavers converted just 10-of-20 (50 percent) from the charity stripe, compared to 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) for the Thunder. The Beavers grabbed seven more rebounds than the Thunder (36-29), while Bluffton committed 11 more turnovers than the home team (21-10).