February 4, 2017
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men delighted their Alumni Day cheering throng with a highlight-reel effort in a 100-96 OT victory on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017! The Beavers improved to 12-9 overall and 5-9 in the Heartland Conference, while visiting Transylvania slipped to 13-8 and 8-6 in the HCAC.
Transy erased a 14-point deficit (75-61) over the final 8:34 of regulation as the Beavers were outscored 23-9 down the stretch. The Pioneers never led in the second half, but when GABE SCHMITT got to the rack for an easy backdoor deuce with just over a minute remaining he knotted the score at 84-84. TREY ELCHERT'S (Jackson Center) triple try with 25 seconds left was off the mark and Transy missed their final attempt, sending the game to extra time.
AUSTIN ROHDE (Shelby) followed ANDREW HUNTER'S (Arlington) trifecta with an old-fashioned three-point play, putting Bluffton up 91-88 with 3:40 to play in overtime. A pair of Rohde buckets sandwiched around two JUSTIS DOWDY (Van Wert/Lincolnview) freebies gave the Beavers a four-point cushion (98-94) with 14 seconds on the clock. MARTIN MAKSVYTIS (Dayton/Franklin-Monroe) sealed the 100-96 win with two more charity tosses with three ticks left as Bluffton earned a split in this year's season series with the Pioneers.
Rohde missed his first two free throws and then knocked down his next 16 en route to 31 points, just two off his career high. He tallied 27 of those counters in the second half and overtime! Sophomore JARED WENTLING (Carey) torched the Pioneers with 25 points on a blistering 10-of-15 from the field. Martin Maksvytis and Justis Dowdy equaled their career-best scoring efforts with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Hunter knocked down a pair of triples for nine points and he dished out six assists. Junior KEVIN CHRISTIE (Miamisburg/Bishop Fenwick) doled out a career-high nine dimes and added eight markers for the victors.
Bluffton knocked down 32-of-65 (49.2 percent) from the field, compared to 34-of-60 (56.7 percent) for the Pioneers. The Beavers drained nine triples (45 percent) and turned it over six fewer times than the Pioneers (15-9). Transy pulled down two more rebounds (31-29) but the home team doled out six more assists (23-17).
The Beavers will make the short trip to Defiance on Wednesday, Feb. 8, for a return meeting with the rival Yellow Jackets. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. following the women's contest.
-BEAVERS-