Less than 12 seconds into the game, junior NICK LEE (Mt. Blanchard/Vanlue) sparked the Bluffton offense with a triple. At the 13:24 mark JOSH JOHNSON (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) made two freebies to tie the game (11-11).

 

The two HCAC foes battled the next six minutes before a CLIFFORD CLASS trifecta put The Mount ahead, 21-17, with 7:04 left in the opening half. DUSTIN KINN (Alvada/New Riegel) answered with a layin, but DAVID MANN drained a three-pointer at the 5:39 mark. A couple of free throws from MYCHAL HILL (London/Jon.Alder) pulled the Beavers within three.

 

On consecutive trips down the floor, BEN HAARMAN, who torched the Beavers for 37 points, including 26 counters over the final 3:33 when the two teams met in December, made two triples to put MSJ up by nine (34-25) with 3:33 left in the first half. A trifecta by JOSH FISHER(Rockford/Parkway) with six seconds left in the first period brought Bluffton within seven at the break (43-36). 

 

Haarman was still on fire to start the second half, capitalizing on a couple of freebies and a layup. Less than two minutes after the break, Hill got to the rack twice to cut the deficit to five.

 

At the 15:29 mark, a hoop and harm from Kinn knotted the score at 47. From there, Bluffton took control and went up by seven (54-47) with buckets by Kinn and WILL POPE (Somerville/Preble Shawnee). The Beavers continued to sizzle with a Fisher triple and a Johnson bucket for their largest lead of the night, 76-61, with 4:23 left. A three-pointer by Haarman pulled the Lions within nine but the Beavers ran away with an 85-73 victory. 

 

Leading the way in the scoring column for Bluffton was junior Mychal Hill with 26 points, just two shy of his career high. Hill connected on 6-of-11 from the floor, two triples and he was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Dustin Kinn added 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting and Josh Fisher had 10 points on 2-of-3 from behind the arc. Junior BRENT FARLEY(Lima/Shawnee) chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.

 

The Lions Ben Haarman continued his superb play against Bluffton, going 9-of-17 from the floor with six assists and three steals. Haarman finished the season series with 67 points in his two meetings with the Beavers. JORDAN BROWN added 10 points on 5-of-6 from the field.

 

The Beavers hit 23-of-45 (51.1 percent) and the Lions made 26-of-54 (48.1 percent) from the field. The Beavers proved to be more efficient from the line, knocking down 32-of-38 (84.2 percent) while MSJ made 14-of-18 (77.8 percent). Bluffton out-rebounded the Lions, pulling in 32, compared to 20 for MSJ. Mount St. Joseph had 17 turnovers, while Bluffton committed 20 miscues.

The Beavers will be back in action on Saturday, January 29, when they host Franklin College. The Hall of Fame Day contest in Founders Hall is scheduled to tip at 4 p.m.