FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Bluffton University men's basketball team made the short trip west across US 30 on Sunday, Nov. 27, to do battle with Division I Purdue Fort Wayne. In what was an exhibition contest for the Beavers, Bluffton fell, 106-41, to the Mastodons who have a tight loss to Michigan and an 80-point victory over Manchester on their resume this season.
Purdue jumped out to a 21-3 lead seven minutes in and used a stifling defense to put the clamps on Bluffton. The spread ballooned to 32-5 before Kegan Owen (Indianapolis, Ind./Greenwood) knocked down a jumper and JD Stokes (West Harrison, Ind./Franklin County) and Cam Rogers (Cincinnati/Christian) followed with buckets in the paint.
Stokes sandwiched two more deuces around a pair of Michael Stammen (Versailles) freebies and Connor Martin (Holland/Springfield) capped off the half with a layin as the visitors trailed 58-21 at the break.
Stammen got the hoop and harm to kick off the second half and Owen followed with a conventional triple, making it 60-27 with less than two minutes elapsed in the final stanza. That was the closest the game would be during the final 20 as Purdue rolled to a 106-41 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Owen led the way for Bluffton with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from distance. Stammen and Stokes added eight and six markers, respectively. Martin pulled down a team-best five boards in less than 12 minutes of action. Stammen dished out three assists for the Beavers.
Bluffton is back in the Sommer Center for a 7:30 tip with Mount St. Joseph for the Heartland Conference lidlifter on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Go Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
Photos courtesy of Josh Gales
