November 17, 2012
By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant
CLEVELAND, Ohio - After leading most of the way, the Bluffton University men's basketball team fell victim to a late second half run by the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays on Saturday, Nov. 17. The Beavers fell 58-56 to Johns Hopkins in the consolation game of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Memorial Tournament hosted by Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Tyler Neal (Bluffton) gave the Beavers an early lead at 2-0. After a Blue Jay layup, Josh Fisher (Rockford/Parkway) made it 4-2 with a jumper of his own. Johns Hopkins came right back down to take a 5-4 lead on a three. Fisher drained a three of his own to give Bluffton a 7-5 lead with 16:53 to play in the half.
The Beavers pushed the lead as high as seven points in the first 10 minutes of the game. However, the Blue Jays began to make a run, tying the game on an Alexander Nikolic layup with 8:08 remaining in the first period, and taking the lead on a free throw at the 6:53 mark. A triple by Josh Johnson (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) gave the Beavers a 19-17 lead. A Beaver spurt sent the lead to four before Johns Hopkins tied it at the 3:53 mark. The game remained knotted at 23 as the teams made their way to the locker rooms.
The Blue Jays built a six-point lead (37-31) at the 15:17 mark, but the Beavers stormed right back, taking the lead on a Dillon Long (Rockford/Parkway) chip shot at the 13:31 mark of the second half. The Beavers took a 44-43 lead on a three by Neal at the 8:24 mark. Baskets by Neal, Johnson, and Will Pope (Somerville/Preble Shawnee) made the score 50-43 with just under six mintes to play.
Johns Hopkins, however, would not go away. After the Beaver lead went back to seven on a Johnson trifecta with 2:58 remaining, the Blue Jays responded with an 11-0 run over the next two minutes, effectively sealing the Beavers' fate. Bluffton cut it to one with a hoop and harm by Fisher with 12 ticks remaining. JHU sealed the victory with a Mike Rhoads free throw for a 58-56 win.
The Beavers put four in double figures, led by Neal who was 6-for-8 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, for a career-high 15 points. Fisher chipped in with 13, while Pope and Johnson added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Pope was named to the All-Tournament Team after leading Bluffton with 25 points and 14 rebounds over the weekend.
The Blue Jays outrebounded the Beavers 34-29 in their win. Johns Hopkins knocked down 51.1 percent, including 58.3 percent in the second half. The Beavers converted only 38.3 percent from the field (23-of-60). The Blue Jays won was despite committing eight more turnovers than the Beavers (21-13).
The Bluffton men will open their 2012-13 home campaign in the beautiful new Sommer Center on Friday, Nov. 23, at 4 p.m. against the OSU-Lima Barons.
-BEAVERS-