By: Colton Steiner
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton Beavers would welcome back senior guard Michael Stammen (Versailles) as they faced off against the Earlham College Quakers on Copeland Court in a Wednesday night HCAC thriller. The Beavers sought revenge after falling to the Quakers in the first matchup of the season, 78-69, on Jan. 15. After a back and forth first half, Bluffton was able to ride the energy from the crowd in the second half as they would pull away and come away victorious, 82-71. The win moved the Beavers to an overall record of 5-16 on the season and 4-10 in the HCAC. With the loss, Earlham dropped to 1-20 on the season and 1-14 in conference play.
Michael Stammen fittingly scored the first backet of the game, and his first basket since Nov. 26, after suffering injuries in the first minute of the game against Kenyon. Earlham would answer with a 9-2 run before a layup from Cam Rogers (Cincinnati/Cincinnati Christian) cut the deficit to 9-6 with 15:41 left in the first half. With the Quakers leading 16-13, the Beavers would go on a 12-0 run that was capped off with a one-handed slam from JD Stokes (West Harrison, Ind./Franklin County), leading to an Earlham timeout with 8:23 on the clock in the first half.
The Quakers responded with a 12-4 run to cut Bluffton's lead to 29-28 before a Nevin Robson (Kenton/Hardin Northern) bucket moved the Beaver lead to three. In the final four minutes, Earlham would outscore the home team 9-2 to take a 37-33 lead at the break.
The Beavers came out with fury in the second half, going on an 8-0 spurt with a Nevin Robson layup putting them ahead 41-37 with 15:43 left in regulation. It was a back and forth game for several minutes, with Bluffton pushing their lead to five after a Sihr Sumner (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) layup put them ahead 51-46 with under twelve minutes left to play. Following a 6-2 run from the Quakers, Caden Slusher (Rockford/Parkway) would connect on a deep three from the wing as the Beavers outscored the visitors 10-0 in the span of two minutes, taking a 63-52 lead with 6:34 remaining.
After Earlham managed to cut the Bluffton lead to six, a Nevin Robson Layup and a Michael Stammen step-back jumper increased the Beaver lead to 73-63. Earlham got within five, but the Beavers would hold strong and walk away with a 82-71 HCAC win.
Bluffton knocked down 48.5 percent (32-of-66) of their shots from the field, but just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from deep. while Earlham connected on only 40.3 percent of their attempts for the game and 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from three. While the Beavers would narrowly win the rebounding battle (38-37), the bench stepped up, scoring 36 points to just 12 for the Quakers. Pushing the pace played a big part in the Bluffton win, with the Beavers having a 28-10 edge in fast break points.
Leading the way for Bluffton was Nevin Robson with 27 points, who also was all over the glass, grabbing 14 boards on the day en route to his second double-double. Sihr Sumner added 12 and dished out six assists with Caden Slusher and JD Stokes each scoring eight. In his return, Michael Stammen tallied nine points to go along with three assists and three steals.
Bluffton will return to Sommer Center on Saturday, Feb. 8, when they face off against the Transylvania Pioneers on Alumni Day with tip-off set for 1 p.m. The Alumni Game is slated for 10 a.m. on Saturday. Come out and support your Beavers!
-BEAVERS-