By: Colton Steiner
ANDERSON, Ind. - The Bluffton University men would cross the Ohio-Indiana line to face off against the Anderson Ravens in their final contest of the regular season. The home crowd for the Ravens would get them going early en route to a 96-62 win over the team from Ohio, clinching the HCAC regular season title and the no. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament. This win moved Anderson to 19-5 on the season and 15-3 in the conference entering post-season play.
After a 5-0 start from the Ravens right out of the gate, Nevin Robson (Kenton/Hardin Northern) got the visiting Beavers on the board by knocking down a jumper just over two minutes into the game. While Anderson would answer with a layup, Bluffton rattled off seven consecutive points that included back-to-back triples from William Layfield (West Chester/Lakota West) to give the Beavers a 9-7 lead with just under 16 left in the first half. The Ravens bounced back with a 9-0 spurt before a Nevin Robson layup cut the deficit to 16-11 with 11:25 left on the clock.
Momentum was all on Anderson's side as they would then outscore Bluffton 23-6 to take a 39-17 lead with 3:37 left in the half. The Beavers were able to muster up some offense by cutting the deficit to 14 following threes from Sihr Sumner (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) and William Layfield. However, the Ravens showed why they are the number one team in the conference, hitting a pair shots from behind the arc to close out the half with a 45-25 lead at the break.
The two teams would open up the second half by exchanging buckets, keeping the margin under 25. A Carson Clum (Harrod/Allen East) trifecta cut the deficit to 23, but the Ravens would rattle home back-to-back threes to go up 70-41 with 11:26 left in the contest. The Anderson offense was just hitting on all cylinders while the Bluffton offense struggled to get in a rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. The Beavers would be unable to mount a comeback as the Ravens clinched first place with their 94-62 victory.
The shots were not falling for Bluffton as the visitors hit only 22-of-68 (32.4 percent) from the floor, including 21.4 percent (6-of-28) from deep. Anderson was all over the glass, winning the rebounding battle (50-43) and outscoring the Beavers in the paint, 44-30. 21 assists from Anderson contributed to their 47.4 percent (36-of-76) shooting percentage with a 14-of-38 (36.8 percent) mark from behind the arc.
Leading the way for Bluffton was William Layfield who netted a career-high 15 points, hitting three triples and snagging three rebounds. Nevin Robson would score 12 on 5-of-8 from the floor and he grabbed a team-high eight boards in the contest. Also contributing for the Beavers was Sihr Sumner who added eight markers to go along with three assists and five rebounds.
With Manchester picking up an 83-78 comeback win against Franklin, they will clinch the no. 8 seed in the HCAC tournament, effectively ending Bluffton's season. The Beavers wrapped up their 2024-25 campaign with a final record of 6-19 overall and 5-13 in the Heartland Conference. Continue to check the Bluffton Men's Basketball Webpage over the coming weeks for updated record books and all-conference honors.
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