Posted: Jan 23, 2010
January 23, 2010
By: Brandy Bidlack, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men outscored conference rival Transylvania 45-38 in the second half, but a ten-point deficit from the first stanza allowed the Pioneers to secure a victory over the Beavers, 69-66, on Saturday, January 23, 2010. With the loss, the Beavers dropped to 1-8 in the HCAC and 1-17 overall, while the Pioneers improved to 6-3 in the HCAC and 10-8 overall.
Transylvania jumped out to the early lead in the first five minutes of the contest with a 9-0 jag against Bluffton. The first Beaver points came from JOSH FISHER (Rockford/Parkway) when the freshman guard converted a hoop and harm at the 15:14 mark.
With just over ten minutes left in the half, TYLER BRAIDIC (Pandora/Pandora-Gilboa) connected with NICK LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) at the arc to pull the Beavers within one, 11-10. Transy responded as the Pioneers controlled the rest of the half, going on a 20-10 spurt against Bluffton. A freebie from MYCHAL HILL (London/Jonathan Alder) provided the last Beaver point of the first half as the Pioneers ended the period with a 10-point lead (31-21).
At the 16:45 mark, Fisher cut the deficit to single digits (37-28) with a pair of free throws. Over the next six minutes, the Beavers went on a 14-8 run to make it a three-point game. Bluffton pulled within one following a JOSH EICHAR (North Baltimore) layin with 10:35 remaining on the clock.
A short Pioneer rally ended with a Lee three-pointer at the 4:03 mark to once again pull the Beavers within one point, but Transylvania's DREW KRING, who finished the game 7-of-7 from the field, drained a triple to put Transy up by four. On Bluffton's ensuing trip, Drew fouled Hill, resulting in three makes at the charity stripe for the sophomore guard. With one second left on the clock Fisher sank two freebies, but the Pioneer offense from the first half proved too much for the Beavers as Transylvania defeated the Bluffton men, 69-66, in Founders Hall.
Pacing the Beavers with 23 points, Mychal Hill hit four triples on the night while also pulling down four rebounds. Fisher and Lee added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Forward BRENT FARLEY (Lima/Shawnee) chipped in with 10 points and grabbed six off the glass, in addition to handing out four assists and having a block. Eichar just missed a double-double, tallying nine points and nine boards in the loss.
Kring led the Pioneers with 17 points and had five assists. CHRIS OWENS scored 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds. BLAKE MCCOWAN added 14 points and eight boards for Transy, while teammate TIM TIERNEY finished with a game-high seven assists for the Pioneers.
Bluffton went 19-of-45 (42.2 percent) from the field, compared to 26-of-46 (56.5 percent) for Transylvania. Bluffton knocked down 15-of-23 shots in the second half (65.2 percent), but only 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) in the opening stanza. The Beavers shot 19-of-25 (76.0 percent) from the charity stripe, as well as 9-of-29 (31 percent) from behind the arc. The Pioneers were a perfect 13-of-13 from the line (100 percent) and 4-of-10 (40.0 percent) outside the arc. The Beavers pulled down only 22 boards, compared to the 27 of the Pioneers. Transy had one more turnover than the Beavers (11-10).
Bluffton will return to action on Wednesday, January 27, when it hosts HCAC rival Mt. St. Joseph in Founders Hall. The battle between the Beavers and Lions is slated to start at 7:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-