WOMEN’S GAME REPORT BELOW MEN’S

The Bluffton University men's basketball team fought off Transylvania University for a huge 63-52 Heartland Conference win at the Sommer Center on Saturday, Jan. 19. The Beavers never trailed by more than four during the contest, and they scratched and clawed their way to a well-played victory.

A layup by freshman Jameel Cosby (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) with 4:32 left in the contest put Bluffton up 54-50, but the Beavers went scoreless the next two plus minutes before Andrew Renner (Cairo/Bath) found sophomore Dezman Brown (Elyria) on a slick back cut to the hoop that all but sealed the outcome with the Beavers up 61-52 and just 1:10 to play! Bluffton improved to 13-4 overall and 7-3 in the Heartland Conference, while Transylvania fell to 10-7 and 7-3 in the HCAC.

A low-scoring first half came to a close when Cosby knocked down a pair from the free throw line with six ticks remaining, giving the home team a 28-25 lead at the break.

An early Cosby layup in the second half extended Bluffton's lead to 30-25. With 11:47 left in the game, the Pioneers knotted the score at 41 on a pair of free throws by Spencer McKinney. The Beavers, however, did not budge and a layin by Renner with 1:59 to play would push the spread to 58-51, ending any hopes of a miracle comeback by the Pioneers.

Cosby led the way, dropping in a game-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 from behind the arc. He also came down with five rebounds in the victory. Junior Isaiah Taylor(Yellow Springs) netted 16 of his own, all in the first half, going a very efficient 8-of-10 from the field, and he pulled down four rebounds as well. Renner struggled to find his stroke, but he made up for it with seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. Brown and Brevin Dye (Bedford Heights/Trinity) chipped in with nine and seven counters, respectively, while sophomore Ronnie James (Twinsburg/Benedictine) doled out four dimes.

The Beavers hit 24-of-51 from the field for 47.1 percent, compared to 17-of-49 (34.7 percent) for the Pioneers. Bluffton went 3-of-9 from three-point land for 33.3 percent while the Pioneers were 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from behind the arc. The Pioneers turned the ball over 15 times, compared to just 12 for the Beavers. Bluffton pulled down three more rebounds (33-30) than the visitors.

The men will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 23, when they play host to the Earlham College Quakers in a Heartland Conference matchup. Tip-off in the Sommer Center is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Women’s game

The Bluffton University women's basketball team lost a high-scoring affair to HCAC-leading Transylvania on Saturday, Jan. 19, by the score of 75-67. The setback dropped the Beavers to 6-11 on the season (4-6 HCAC), while Transylvania improved to 15-2 and 9-1 in the Heartland Conference.

The visiting team started the game off in rapid-fire fashion as they took an early 7-0 lead following a layup by Shelby Boyle with 8:18 remaining in the first quarter. Junior Tj Mills(Dayton/Chaminade Julienne) would help the Beavers cut the deficit to one point after back-to-back triples made the score 12-11 with 6:20 to play in the quarter. Transylvania responded with a 10-0 run en route to a 27-15 advantage after one period.

Freshman Brianna Gillig (New Riegel) scored on three straight possessions early in the second quarter to help cut the deficit to 11 with 7:55 on the clock. Nora Hemminger (McComb) drilled back-to-back triples in a span of 45 seconds, but the Beavers still trailed 39-29 with 5:16 left in the period as Transylvania continued to light up the scoreboard. Bluffton would finish the quarter on a 12-6 run as the home team went into the halftime break trailing 45-41 thanks to a Breanna Graham (Springboro) three-point bomb with just two seconds left in the opening half.

Lj Olverson (Cincinnati/Princeton) hit two quick layups to begin the third stanza, tying the score at 45-45 with 9:10 remaining in the quarter. However, Transylvania quickly responded with an 11-0 spurt capped off by a Boyle three-point bomb which made the score 56-45 with 6:11 on the clock. The rest of the quarter went back-and-forth as Bluffton trailed 66-54 at the end of three rounds.

Transylvania began the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run, extending the lead to 72-54 with 8:14 remaining. Olverson responded with a 6-0 jag of her own as she dominated the paint to make the score 72-60 with 3:34 remaining. The Beavers continued to battle, capping a 13-0 run with a Mills three-point bomb that pulled Bluffton within five at 72-67 with 39 second remaining. The Beavers fought and clawed all 40 minutes, but came up just short as the Pioneers moved to 9-1 in the HCAC with their 75-67 victory.

Mills led the Beavers with 16 points, going 4-of-6 from three-point land. Olverson scored 14 points on a red-hot 7-for-9 from the floor. Gillig added 12 points, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and also dished out a team-high four assists. Graham chipped in nine points off the bench as she went 3-of-7 from distance. Sophomore Abbie Parkins (Bluffton) pulled down six rebounds for the home team.

Transylvania was led by Boyle as she scored 25 points, going 9-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-9 from three-point land, and she also dished out a team-high six assists. Celia Kline bucketed 18 points, going 6-of-8 from the field. Miranda Otero dominated the defensive end with 13 rebounds and a team-high four steals off the bench. Ashton Woodward checked in with 12 points for the visiting team.

Bluffton shot 28-of-64 from the floor, making 43.8 percent of its shots. Transylvania went 25-of-57 for 43.9 percent from the field. The Beavers connected on 10-of-23 from outside the arc for an efficient 43.5 percent, while Transylvania finished 13-of-32 from long range for 40.6 percent. Bluffton outrebounded Transylvania (40-28) and also won the assists battle (17-16).

The women travel to Earlham College on Wednesday, Jan. 23, for a 7:30 p.m. tip in Richmond, Ind. The next home game for the Beavers is slated for Wednesday, Jan. 30, when they host Mount St. Joseph at 7:30 p.m.