BLUFFTON, Ohio - When the numbers were drawn for the 2020-21 Heartland Conference tournament, Bluffton University found itself in a very enviable position with the #4 seed. That bit of luck moves the Beavers into round two and assures Bluffton of a home game on Wednesday, March 3! The Sommer Center will be rocking (following social distancing protocols that include no cheering of course!) when #5 seed Franklin comes to town for the first time this season.
Bluffton rolled off 10 consecutive wins to open the season, shattering the school record of six games, and putting the 2020-21 squad third all-time behind the 2005-06 and 2006-07 teams for consecutive wins at any point of a season. The schedule toughened down the stretch, however, as Bluffton enters the tournament having lost four of its last five games.
The Beavers will be in their fourth consecutive Heartland Conference tourney where they will be looking to win just their second post-season game since a trip to the championship at Defiance in 2014-15. Bluffton took out Anderson and MSJ en route to the title game that year before knocking the Ravens out of the HCAC tournament again in 2018-19.
Franklin enters the arena with a 6-6 mark thanks to four weekend splits and a sweep of Defiance College. The Grizzlies are coming off a 69-61 home loss to #1 seed Manchester University last Saturday, a night after going on the road for an 88-76 victory at North Manchester, IN.
Bluffton's tournament hopes rest on a trio of seniors as well as junior Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge). Dezman Brown (Elyria), Aaron Rich (Greenville) and Ronnie James (Cleveland Benedictine) have been fixtures in the Bluffton lineup for the past four years and their experience will be crucial as the Beavers look to make a deep March run.
Cosby leads the Beavs with 16.0 PPG and he is also pulling down 6.0 RPG. Rich averages over eight PPG and eight RPG, while James has doled out a team-high 43 assists. James and Brown give Bluffton two lockdown defenders on the perimeter as Bluffton is picking up 6.3 steals per game.
Although Damian Davis (Bexley) has seen action in just four games, the lightning-quick freshman ranks 3rd on the team with 11.5 PPG and he has been nearly perfect at the stripe, hitting 16-of-17 (94.1 percent). Big minutes out of Davis will be paramount if Bluffton is to advance in the tournament.
Sophomores Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) and Mike Ketner (Minster) from MAC country will also be counted on heavily as the rotation shrinks. Ketner gives the Beavers 6.2 PPG off the bench and is always a threat from distance, while Bruns is a swiss army knife who can pass out of the post, shoot at all levels and clean the glass.
A Bluffton win over Franklin would move the Beavers into the semifinals on Sunday, March 7, where another game in the Sommer Center is a distinct possibilty if Manchester falls on Wednesday, March 3.
-BEAVERS-