BLUFFTON – The Bluffton High School boys basketball team lost 52-42 to visiting Northwest Conference rival Columbus Grove on February 7.
The Pirates fell to 12-7 overall and 2-4 in the NWC with their third loss in a row. Columbus Grove improved to 9-7 overall and 5-1 in NWC play after the victory.
The Pirates trailed 18-12 after the first period. After a second stanza where Marek Donaldson buried two triples, Bluffton inched within 26-23 at halftime.
The Bulldogs captured the third period 13-9 to take a 39-32 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Grove also won the fourth period 13-10 to triumph by 10. CG outscored Bluffton 26-19 in the second half.
Pirate guard Donaldson led the Pirates with 12 points on four three-point goals. Blake Sommers netted 11 markers, including five in the third quarter. Bean Ginther tallied five of his seven points in the final period.
The Bluffton High School girls basketball team was seeded fifth in the rugged seven-team Div. V Defiance Northwest 2 sectional/district.
The Pirates (12-8) will play at second seed Delta (17-1) on Thursday, February 13 at 7 p.m. in a sectional final.
The winner plays the Archbold/Paulding survivor Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the district semifinals. The Archers (15-5) are seeded third, and the Panthers (15-4) are fourth.
The Defiance district finals will be played Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
MINSTER - The Bluffton High School swim teams competed in a tough four-team meet at the Auglaize/Mercer County YMCA on February 1.
The Pirate boys took second and Bluffton girls came in third.
St. Henry won the tightly-bunched girls meet with 133 points, followed by Bellefontaine/Ben Logan with 126 points. The Pirate girls totaled 113 points.
Bellefontaine/BL won the boys meet with 126 points. Bluffton finished second with 87 points. St. Henry ended up a distant third with 23 points. McComb was fourth with 16.
LIMA – The Bluffton High School bowling team competed in the Perry Commodore Invitational Saturday, February 1.
The Pirates finished 10th at the 13-team event.
Thirteen teams bowled 10 games in the qualifying round, with only the top four teams moving on.
Round two scores re-set to zero, and the top four teams bowled three more games. From there, the top two teams moved on. All contests bowled were Baker games on the post-season oil pattern.
SMITHVILLE – The Bluffton High School boys basketball team lost 60-47 to Aliquippa, Pa. in the fourth edition of the “Battle of the Berkey” series Sunday, February 2, at Smithville’s Wilbur Berkey Fieldhouse.
The two-day, 12-game series started out four years ago as a weekend of contests pitting top western Ohio teams vs. top eastern Ohio squads of similar size and talent.
Now the northeast Ohio event has evolved to include out-of-state schools such as Aliquippa, which is in western Pennsylvania, and Newport, Ky.
SPENCERVILLE – The visiting Bluffton High School boys basketball team lost a 48-45 heartbreaker to Northwest Conference leader Spencerville Friday, January 31, in a key league contest.
Bearcat sophomore Will Sensabaugh nailed a three-pointer at the final buzzer to complete a late rally and win the game. He scored a game-high 25 points.
Spencerville outscored the Pirates 18-6 in the fourth quarter to overcome a nine-point deficit and win.
