Setting the scene
The newest member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference visits Founders Hall Saturday as Transylvania University takes on Bluffton College. The Beavers have won five of their last eight games and are taking on a Pioneer program that is a newcomer to the NCAA after establishing itself as one of the most respected NAIA programs in the country in the past many years. Transylvania is eligible to compete for the HCAC regular season title, but will not play in the HCAC tournament until the 2004-05 season.
One of these teams will win their first HCAC game of the season Saturday, and they will meet again in Lexington, Kentucky on February 9. Today is Bluffton’s second straight game against a team from Kentucky, as the Beavers defeated Thomas More College (Crestview Hills, Ky.) here on Wednesday night 93-90.
The series
This is the first meeting between these two schools. Bluffton is 11-16 against teams from Kentucky (1-0 vs. Centre, 1-0 vs. Kentucky Christian, 9-16 against Thomas More).
The coaches
Bluffton is led by 13th-year head coach Guy Neal, who ranks fourth on the BC all-time wins list with 132 victories. Transylvania is led by first year head coach Brian Lane, who had spent two years as an assistant at Morehead State before taking over the Transy program for his father, Don Lane, who retired this summer after 26 years as the head coach at TU. The senior Lane built the Pioneer program into one of the most respected in the NAIA, compiling a record of 509-241 and guiding Transy to six NAIA national tournaments, including last season when he was named the NAIA Division I National Coach of the Year.
Season records
Bluffton has won five of their last eight games and is now 7-8 overall this season. The Beavers are 0-5 in the HCAC, but rank second in the league in rebounding and field goal shooting.
Transylvania won their season opener at home against Earlham College 70-55, but has dropped their last 11 games to see their record slip to 1-11 overall and 0-5 in the HCAC. The Pioneers have dropped their last three conference games by an average of just seven points, however, and took #20 Hanover College into overtime before falling to the Panthers 77-70. That game was Transy’s first game in the Clive M. Beck Athletic and Recreation Center, a brand new $15 million dollar facility that opened its doors on January 2.
Last game
Bluffton is coming off a 93-90 win over Thomas More College here on Wednesday night. Junior Derek DeNero scored a career high 29 points, 20 of which came in the second half, as he led BC to their fifth win in row over the Saints. Bluffton led at halftime 47-38 and went up by 13 points with 15:55 left in the game, but a furious TMC rally gave the Saints the lead at 77-76 with 5:56 to play. BC regained the lead, however, and held on for the win as the Beavers notched season-highs with 93 points and six blocked shots. Senior Rod Overmyer scored 19 points in the first half and finished with 25. DeNero tied a career high with 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
Transylvania had an equally close game on Wednesday, but fell in the final seconds to Anderson University 67-65 as the Ravens hit a lay-up at the buzzer. Freshman Clay Tate set a career scoring high for the third game in a row, netting 25 points, 21 in the first half as Transy trailed by a point, 37-36. Junior Nick Nash had 14 points and five rebounds while sophomore Andrew Coyle added 11 points and six rebounds.
The players
These two teams combined for 43 wins last season (Bluffton was 16-9, Transy was 27-2), but were hit hard by graduation. Bluffton said goodbye to seven of their top nine scorers, while TU lost seven of their top eight players including the NAIA National Player of the Year Collier Mills. The Pioneers have just one senior on this year’s team and their top seven scorers will all be back next season.
Bluffton senior Rod Overmyer leads the HCAC in scoring (18.5 ppg) and has averaged 25.3 point in the last four games. A first team All-HCAC selection last year, he is the league’s top 3-pointer shooter with 38 treys so far this season and he ranks 8th in free throw shooting (82.7%). Junior Derek DeNero is coming off a career high performance on Wednesday with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Having averaged 22.7 points in the last three games, he now ranks 4th in the HCAC in scoring (15.3 ppg) and 3rd in rebounding (7.3 rpg).
Junior Mike Leimeister ranks 5th in the HCAC in scoring (15.3 ppg), 2nd in free throw shooting (88.2%), 2nd in field goal shooting (61.1%) and 6th in rebounding (6.1 rpg). He was named the HCAC Player of the Week on Dec. 16 and was voted the MVP of the Heidelberg College Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament on Dec. 22. BC junior Marcus Bixler leads the conference in assists (6.3 apg).
Transylvania is led by 6-4 junior Jimmy Kosieniak, a transfer from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, who ranks third in the HCAC in scoring (15.9 ppg) and 8th in 3-pointers made (1.4 3-ptrs per game). Junior Nick Nash ranks 10th in scoring (13.9 ppg) and 3rd in free throw shooting (87.8%), while junior Scott Mendenhall, who was named the team’s Most Improved Player last season, ranks 2nd in steals (2.1 spg). Andrew Coyle, a 6-6 sophomore, is averaging 13.0 points per game and was named the HCAC Player of the Week on Nov. 19.
Statistical matchups
The rest of the HCAC has held down the offensive production of these two teams so far this season, while BC and TU have seen league teams shoot very well against them. Transy ranks 7th in scoring margin (-13.8 ppg) and 7th in opponents’ field goal percentage (50.0%), while Bluffton ranks 8th in scoring margin (-16.6 ppg) and 8th in opponents field goal percentage (50.2%).
Both these teams have shown they can shoot, too, however, as Bluffton ranks 2nd in the HCAC in field goal percentage (47.4%) and Transy ranks 2nd in free throw shooting (75.5%). The Beavers also rank second in rebounding margin (+3.0).
Around the HCAC
Also on the HCAC schedule Saturday, Franklin travels to Anderson and Defiance travels to Mount St. Joseph, while Hanover travels to Thomas More in a non-conference game.
