By: Ethans Stearns, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's basketball team improved to 5-18 overall and 3-13 in the Heartland Conference, evening the season series in a very exciting Senior Night game with Earlham College on Wednesday, Feb 8, 2023. The visiting team fell to 4-18 and 3-12 in the HCAC. Bluffton put together its best half of the season, outscoring the Quakers 42-27 over the final 20 minutes, en route to a 66-60 victory in Head Coach Guy Neal's final home game!
The home squad started the contest slowly as they would head into the break trailing by seven points thanks to an 8-0 Quaker splurge over the final three minutes. All five healthy seniors started the game for the Beavers and Mike Ketner (Minster) dropped in the first bucket off a sweet pass from Ryan Rose (Tipp City/Bethel) to get the night rolling. Fellow senior Marcus Bruns (Coldwater) scored five points in the first half.
Jalen Cromwell (Pickerington) played valuable minutes in the opening stanza, scoring two of his four first-half points at the 16:22 mark. Cromwell also came down with five first-half boards! With the game knotted up at five apiece, Connor Martin (Holland/Springfield) and Nevin Robson (Kenton/Hardin Northern) both converted bunnies to put the Beavers up by four. Despite five more tallies from Brady Wheeler (Lima/Shawnee), Bluffton went into the break trailing, 33-24.
The pace of the game turned in the home team's favor during the second half as the Beavers outscored Earlham 42-27 over the final frame. Michael Stammen (Versailles) was unconscious in the second half, scoring all 22 of his game-high points following the intermission! Wheeler opened up the half by drilling a triple, and then Stammen got to work, bucketing seven straight points. Miguel Ringer (Cincinnati/Cincinnati Christian) played a pivotal role in the comeback effort, getting to the rack for a put-back that would seal the 66-60 victory!
Stammen finished with one of the best performances of his career, scoring 22 points to go along with a career-high 12 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double! He also led his squad in helpers, dishing out four dimes. Ringer dominated inside, scoring nine of his own while also tracking down seven boards. Wheeler added 10 points to the effort.
Both teams shot nearly identical percentages from the field. Earlham went 22-of-56 (39.3 percent) while Bluffton finished 20-for-51 (39.2 percent). Where the Beavers really stole the game was in the rebounding category as they ripped down 20 more caroms (46-26). The home squad also made their presence known inside, scoring 34 paint points, compared to just 22 for the visitors.
In addition to the Wednesday starters (Bruns, Ketner, Ringer, Cromwell, Rose), Bluffton honored Kegan Owen (Indianapolis, Ind./Greenwood), student assistant Connor Case and cheerleader Sierra Hough prior to tip-off.
The men will hit the road for their first of three straight road matchups as they look to build a season-ending winning streak against Franklin on Saturday, Feb. 11. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
