Takayla Gadberry, sports information alumna
BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Bluffton University men's basketball team secured a 67-57 victory over the Bethany College Bison in the consolation game of the McDonald's Holiday Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 29. The Beavers improved to 3-7 overall while the Bison fell to 0-12.
The Bison took an early 3-0 lead, but Michael Stammen (Versailles) and Brady Wheeler (Lima/Shawnee) answered back with two straight buckets to take a 4-3 lead. Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) drained a three followed by two Wheeler freebies which put the Beavers up by three (12-9). An offensive run for Bethany gave the visitors a 25-20 lead at the 5:21 mark before a Connor Martin (Holland/Springfield) deuce cut the deficit to three (25-22). A shot from beyond the arc by Kegan Owen (Indianapolis, IN/Greenwood) and two Beaver layups gave the home team a 33-31 lead, however, a Bison triple at the buzzer gave them a 34-33 advantage heading to the locker room at the half.
The Beavers came out strong in the second half with seven straight points to take a 40-34 lead. An 11-2 run for the home team saw them open a commanding 51-39 spread with 14 minutes to play. A stretch of defensive struggle for Bluffton saw the Bison score 10 points unanswered to cut their deficit to four (53-49). An 8-3 run for the Beavers, highlighted by a Wheeler trifecta, powered the Beavers to the 67-57 victory over Bethany.
Owen led the Bluffton offense with 15 points on the board. Martin and Nevin Robson (Kenton/Hardin Northern) were just two off his pace with 13 apiece. It marked career highs in points for both Martin and Robson. Martin was the defensive star, pulling down a career-high 10 boards for his first career double-double! Wheeler and Stammen added six and four rebounds to their stat lines, respectively. Stammen followed up his career-high nine dimes Wednesday night with six more on Thursday.
The Beavers won the shooting battle, going 24-of-60 (40 percent) from the field and 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc, compared to 22-of-57 (38.6 percent) overall and 9-of-30 (30 percent) from distance for the Bison. Bluffton also hit 14-of-20 (70 percent) from the charity stripe with Bethany knocking down 4-of-6 (66.7 percent).
The home team pulled down one more board (37-36), but the Beavers tallied eight fewer turnovers (17-9). Bluffton also scored 32 points in the paint, compared to 20 for the Bison.
The Beaver men will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 31, when they travel to Indiana for an HCAC matchup against the Anderson University Ravens. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. Go Beavers!
-BEAVERS-
