By: Colton Steiner
BLUFFTON, Ohio - After the revealing of J Denny and Jenny Beaver, the Bluffton University men's basketball squad took on the Franklin College Grizzlies in a Saturday afternoon affair. The Grizzlies would get off to a blistering start, hitting 14 of their first 16 shots, en route to a dominating 96-61 victory. With the defeat, the Beavers dipped to 4-14 on the season and 3-8 in conference play while Franklin improved to 13-5 overall and 9-2 in the HCAC.
Cam Rogers (Cincinnati/Cincinnati Christian) got Bluffton going with a jump shot to tie the game at 2-2 in the first minute. Despite Bluffton scoring early, the visitors went on a vicious 17-3 run to go up 19-5 with 14:40 left in the first half. Back-to-back buckets from Cam Rogers trimmed the deficit to 10, but a 20-4 spurt extended Franklin's lead to 39-13 with 9:42 remaining in the half. Following a Nevin Robson (Kenton/Hardin Northern) layup, freshman Luke Beyke (St. Henry) would drain a triple, bringing the deficit to 21. The two teams went on to exchange buckets for the remainder of the half with the Grizzlies holding a 49-28 lead at the break.
After back-to-back makes from Franklin to start the second period, William Layfield (West Chester/Lakota West) knocked down a jumper to make the score 53-30 in favor of the visitors. The Grizzlies would score five straight points, but Nevin Robson dialed long distance, making it a 25-point game with 17:07 left on the clock. The visitors continued to pour it on, using a 16-6 run to take a 74-39 lead with 12:10 left in regulation. The teams went back and forth, but Bluffton was unable to slow down Franklin's offense as the Grizzlies wrapped up their 96-61 victory.
The Beavers struggled to find a flow on offense, shooting only 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the field, compared to Franklin's 54.5 percent (36-of-66). Bluffton hit just 3-of-14 from behind the arc (21.4 percent), while the Grizzlies were a red-hot 50 percent (12-of-24) from downtown. Franklin finished with a 36-33 edge in total rebounds while outscoring the home team 44-34 in the paint. Turnovers haunted Bluffton, with 14 miscues to only six for the visitors.
Leading the Beavers in scoring was Nevin Robson with 16 to go along with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Cam Rogers added 10 with William Layfield netting nine points. Ian Snelling (Erlanger, Ky./Dixie Heights) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds to go along with a team-high seven assists.
Bluffton will look to put this game in the rearview mirror before the men hit the road to face off against Manchester on Wednesday, Jan. 29, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
