March 2, 2010
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Sophomore MYCHAL HILL (London/Jonathan Alder) was one of just 12 players to be named first team All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2009-10 season. Two of his sophomore teammates, BRENT FARLEY (Lima/Shawnee) and NICK LEE(Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue), along with senior forward JOSH EICHAR (North Baltimore), received honorable mention All-HCAC acclaim from the coaches.
Sophomore captain Mychal Hill paced the Beavers with 13.9 points per game while handing out 47 assists despite missing six of Bluffton's first seven games with an injury. Once inserted back into the starting lineup, the talented point guard gave the Beavers an outstanding three-point shooter (.406) who was just as likely to put the ball on the floor and get to the rack. Hill drained 41-of-101 from distance while also knocking down 55-of-72 (.764) at the charity stripe. He picked up 24 steals and finished the season with 44 rebounds (2.3 RPG).
Forced into an entirely different role due to Bluffton's guard-laden squad in 2009-10, senior
Josh Eichar flourished as a power forward after two years of directing the Beavers' offense as a point guard. What did not change was Eichar's nose for the basketball and willingness to leave everything on the floor. Giving up six inches of height or more on a nightly basis, Eichar spearheaded a Bluffton defense that limited opponents to a paltry 66.0 points per game. The senior captain led Bluffton with 52 assists and 36 steals while hauling in a career-high 5.4 rebounds per game. For his career, Eichar leaves Bluffton fourth on the all-time list for steals with 137 and 16th for assists with 185 despite not playing a minute of varsity basketball as a freshman. 2009-10 marked the third consecutive season that Eichar was named honorable mention All-HCAC.
Using his superb athleticism around the basket, sophomore forward
Brent Farley captured his first honorable mention All-HCAC award. The high-flying Farley topped Bluffton with a .536 shooting percentage from the field (118-for-220) thanks to his ability to finish at the rim. He led Bluffton with 6.9 rebounds per game and his 11.3 points per game was good for the third-best scoring average behind fellow sophomores Hill and
Nick Lee. Farley equaled Eric Sweet for the second-most blocks in a season with 48 rejections and he also dished out 48 dimes and came away with 22 steals.
Sophomore guard
Nick Lee picked up his first All-HCAC postseason award. The honorable mention All-Heartland Conference selection started 21 games, delivering 49-of-135 (.363) from outside the arc. Lee was 37-of-52 (.712) at the free throw line and he collected 3.1 rebounds per game. Adept at forcing the defense to collapse and finding open teammates, Lee contributed with 49 assists and 20 steals while dropping in 12.2 points per game, the second highest scoring average for the Beavers.
Although Bluffton managed to go just 2-23 after a school-record five consecutive winning seasons, the Beavers were extremely competitive, especially as the season went on. 15 of the losses came by single digits with 11 of those by six points or less and a seven-point setback in overtime. In addition, Bluffton knocked off NCAA tournament qualifier Defiance College in Founders Hall this season. With four starters and over 80 percent of its scoring returning next year, the Beavers will look to be back in the HCAC tournament picture in 2010-11.
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