December 5, 2009
LEXINGTON, Kentucky - Despite holding a 22-17 halftime lead at Transylvania on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009, the Bluffton University men's basketball team fell victim to 18 turnovers and poor foul shooting as the Pioneers came out of the break with a 17-4 spurt en route to the 54-49 victory. Bluffton dropped to 0-7 overall and 0-2 in the Heartland Conference while Transy improved to 4-3 and 2-0 in HCAC action.
Both teams struggled to find the basket through the first six minutes of the game as Bluffton held a slim 4-3 lead before BARRETT MEYER knocked down of pair of free throws at the 13:36 mark. Senior forward CHRIS SINGLETON (Wapakoneta/Ada) got to the hoop for a 6-5 Bluffton lead, but MATT WISE quickly responded from three-point land to make the score 8-6 in favor of the Pioneers.
Following another Wise triple, NICK LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) sandwiched a pair of trifectas around two JORDAN POTHAST (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) makes from the charity stripe to give the Beavers a 14-11 lead with 7:28 to go in the half. Freshman JOSH FISHER(Rockford/Parkway) hit from in close and BRENT FARLEY (Lima/Shawnee) converted 1-of-2 at the free throw line before Singleton's shot from distance made the score 20-13 Bluffton at the 4:23 mark. A Farley bucket sent Bluffton to the break with a 22-17 lead over the home Pioneers.
Following another Farley score early in the second period, Transy used a 16-2 jag to open a sizeable 34-26 margin with 13:04 to play. The Beavers turned it over on 7-of-8 possessions during the stretch that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. Transylvania continued to control the action, bumping up its lead to 12 (47-35) with just under nine minutes left.
Bluffton was not ready to go away quietly as the Beavers used their tenacious defense to crawl back into the contest. A 12-3 run powered by seven consecutive points from Nick Lee and capped by Farley made it 50-47 at the 1:33 mark.
BLAKE MCCOWAN drained a huge three to make it a six-point game, but the Pioneers missed consecutive front ends of one-and-ones to keep Bluffton alive and when JOSH EICHAR (North Baltimore) picked up a Transy turnover following two Josh Fisher tosses from the line, it looked like the Beavers were in business. However, Bluffton was unable to convert at the stripe with 17 ticks left and Matthew Parton sealed the 54-49 Pioneer victory with a foul shot.
Nick Lee led the Bluffton offense with 19 points on 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-for-7 outside the arc. Josh Fisher added a career-high 13 points, while Farley chipped in with eight and a game-high 11 boards. He also blocked four shots in the contest. Lee and Josh Eichar pulled down six and five rebounds, respectively. Fisher dished out a game-high three assists.
Bluffton took only 33 shots in the loss, going 15-of-33 (45.5 percent), including 5-for-16 on three-pointers. The Beavers made 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) at the line. Bluffton posted a sizeable 35-24 edge on the glass, but the Beavers turned it over 11 more times than the home team (18-7).
The Beavers return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 9, when they host Anderson University. The contest is slated to tip at 7:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-