By: Joseph Watkins, sports information assistant
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team dropped an HCAC road clash at Rose-Hulman, 70-49, on Saturday, Feb. 2. Bluffton fell to 15-6 overall and 9-5 in the Heartland Conference while Rose improved to 14-7 and 10-4 in the HCAC.
It was a back-and-forth game early in the first stanza. Rose-Hulman came when Michael Lake drained a three-point shot to put the Beavers in a 10-6 hole. Bluffton did not give in as a jump shot by junior Brevin Dye (Bedford Heights/Trinity) would cut it to 10-8 with 15:32 remaining in the first stanza. The Beavers went up by one, 11-10, when junior Andrew Renner (Cairo/Bath) hit an early three-point shot just over five minutes into the game. The visitors trailed by as many as 10 in the half before senior Justis Dowdy (Van Wert/Lincolnview) nailed a triple that cut the Engineer lead to 24-21 with 5:57 left in the half.
The Beavers would finally claim the lead when Mandell Ransaw (Cleveland/Cuyahoga CC) hit a layup that put Bluffton up 25-24 with 4:05 left in the first half. But, unfortunately, that would be the last Beaver lead of the game as it was all Rose-Hulman from there.
Bluffton was led by Renner who netted 16 on 6-of-12 shooting and 2-of-3 from three-point land. Freshman Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) dropped in nine of his own on 4-of-9 shooting and 1-of-3 from deep. Dye chipped in with seven points and five boards.
The Beavers shot 20-of-54 for 37 percent while the Engineers were a very efficient 25-of-45 for 55.6 percent on the afternoon. Bluffton made just 4-of-18 for 22.2 percent from deep and Rose was 7-of-14 for 50 percent. The Engineers turned the ball over 18 times compared to just 11 for the Beavers. Rose ripped down 15 more rebounds than the Beavers (35-20).
The men will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 6, when they play host to Defiance, "that other purple school up north", in a big time rivalry game. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's contest. Let's pack the Sommer Center and get loud!
-BEAVERS-