By: Adriane Bruner, sports information assistant
November 21, 2013
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's basketball team bounced back from its loss at Illinois College last weekend with a convincing 100-62 victory over OSU-Mansfield on a rare Thursday night game in the Sommer Center. Bluffton improved to 2-1 with the win, while the Mavericks slipped to 2-4 on the season.
The home team controlled the contest from the outset, scoring on its first eight possessions while opening a 16-3 advantage. WILL POPE (Somerville/Preble Shawnee) was too much for OSU-Mansfield to handle as he dropped in his first five shot attempts for 10 points before going to the bench less than five minutes into the game.
With the starters enjoying a well-deserved break, the JORDAN TURNER (Swanton/Delta) show took center stage. The senior got to the rack twice, hit from distance and came up with a steal in less than three minutes as the Beavers pushed the lead to 26-9 at the 12:54 mark.
Late in the first stanza, Bluffton's DUSTIN KINN (Alvada/New Riegel) and THAYNE RECKER(Arlington) added to OSU-Mansfield's woes when they combined for 11 points in the paint, making the score 50-23 with just over three minutes on the clock. Senior post JON FOWLER (Cincinnati/St. Xavier) took advantage of a nice feed from NATE CHAMBERS (Miamisburg) before Recker capped the first 20 minutes with back-to-back chip shots for a 56-33 spread at the break.
With Bluffton's first five back on the floor to open period two, Will Pope powered the Beavers to a 63-35 lead following consecutive deuces and a BILLY TAFLINGER (Lima/Central Catholic) trey. With Coach Neal substituting liberally, the home team continued to pour it on. Five straight Turner counters and then a couple assists for good measure made the score 79-43 before freshman TREY ELCHERT (Jackson Center) dialed long distance with his first collegiate triple.
Fellow freshmen AUSTIN ROHDE (Shelby) and ADAM HOPKINS (Wellington/Keystone) showed no mercy to the Mavericks in the waning moments of the game as Rohde buried a three and Hopkins bullied his way to a couple buckets with time winding down. MITCHEL HUFFMAN(Jeromesville/Hillsdale) sank a trifecta for his first collegiate points and Hopkins found Rohde for points 99 and 100 as the Beavers capped their 100-62 rout of OSU-Mansfield in front of a sizeable Sommer Center crowd in the home opener.
Leading the scoring column for Bluffton was Dustin Kinn who put up 17 points, going 7-of-8 from the field with five rebounds for the game. Close behind Kinn was Pope with 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting with one rebound. Also in the double digits for Bluffton was Recker with 13 points and seven rebounds and Turner with a career-best 12 markers. Sophomore BLAKE GREEN (Delta) took advantage of his time on the floor, pulling down a game-high seven boards to go along with five points, two assists, a block and a steal.
OSU-Mansfield was led by JERROD HAWKINS with 13 points, while JABREE LINDSAY and C.J. SIMMONS both chipped in with 12 points.
The Beavers ended the game shooting 42-of-72 (58.3 percent) from the field, 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) at the line, and 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from behind the arc. The Mavericks went 23-of-59 (39.0 percent) from the field, 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) at the stripe, and 5-for-18 (27.8 percent) from outside the arc. The Beavers pulled down 47 boards, compared to the Mavericks 25 and the home squad had two fewer turnovers (15-13).
The Beavers jump back into action this Saturday, Nov. 23, when they face fellow Mennonite school Goshen College on their own Copeland Court. Tip time is slated for 3 p.m. in the Sommer Center.
-BEAVERS-