By: Kyle Stover, sports information assistant
December 14, 2013

ANDERSON, Ind. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team kicked off Christmas break with a satisfying 89-79 win over Anderson University. The Beavers rode their inside trio of THAYNE RECKER(Arlington), WILL POPE (Somerville/Preble Shawnee) and DUSTIN KINN (Alvada/New Riegel) to the victory, with all three of them scoring in double figures as the Beavers hit nearly 70 percent from the field.

The game didn't open up according to plan by Bluffton as Anderson jumped to an early lead and pushed it to as many as 11 with 10:33 left in the first half, but the Beavers would not let that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. An old-fashioned three-point play from Kinn was followed by back-to-back Recker layups which cut the Ravens' lead to just four with 8:46 to play in the half. Anderson held on to a small lead for most of the rest of the half before a layup by Kinn with 28 seconds to go gave the Beavers a one-point advantage (44-43) heading into halftime.

Bluffton took over in the second half, maintaining a small lead for most of the period. A pair of free throws by BILLY TAFLINGER (Lima/Central Catholic) pushed the lead to six for the Beavers with 5:33 to go, but Anderson answered with a three-pointer which cut the lead in half about a minute later. Bluffton responded, pulling away for the 10-point victory.

Recker led Bluffton with a career-high 28 points to go along with his six rebounds. Kinn and Pope had 17 points each to help dominate with 62 points in the paint. Taflinger and RYAN EBBESKOTTE(Delphos/Jefferson) both handed out six assists with Ebbeskotte chipping in 11 points.

Bluffton shot a blistering 69.6 percent from the floor, compared to a solid 59.6 percent for Anderson. The Beavers also won the rebounding battle, pulling down 24 boards, five more than the Ravens.

Bluffton improved to 4-4 on the season with a 2-1 mark in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, while Anderson fell to 0-10 (0-3 HCAC). The Beavers will take a break from competition until after Christmas when they host the McDonald's Holiday Tournament in Bluffton, welcoming OSU-Lima, Ohio Midwestern and North Park University to the Sommer Center. Bluffton's first game of the tournament will be on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. against OSU-Lima.

-BEAVERS-