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Setting the scene
Wednesday night Bluffton College hosts Defiance College in the Beavers’ final home game of the 2001-02 season. A special pre-game ceremony will honor BC seniors Kevin Grey and Rod Overmyer as both players play their final game in Founders Hall. Overmyer will also be honored for scoring his 1000th career point, which occurred Saturday in Bluffton’s win at Transylvania. Bluffton will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak to Defiance, which ranks third in the nation in scoring with 91.2 points per game.
Overmyer reaches 1000 point mark
BC senior Rod Overmyer became the 21st member of the 1000 point club Saturday in Bluffton’s overtime win at Transylvania. Overmyer, who hit the 1000-point mark with a free throw with 1:12 left in regulation, scored a game-high 23 points to lead Bluffton to their 87-78 victory. In that game Overmyer also collected his 100th career assist and added to his career totals of 275 rebounds and 48 steals.
HCAC tourney bracket taking shape
Defiance is playing their final regular season game tonight and is currently in first place in the HCAC with a 10-3 league record. Both Hanover (9-3 HCAC) and Manchester (8-4 HCAC) have conference games tonight and Saturday. The #1 seed in the HCAC tournament has a first round bye, but Bluffton knows they will be on the road at one of those three schools next Tuesday night in the first round of the HCAC tournament.
The series
Defiance leads the all-time series 114-53, which dates back to the 1916-17 season. Bluffton has faced the Yellow Jackets more times than any other opponent, with tonight’s game being the 168th meeting between these two schools. Bluffton’s last win over Defiance was four years ago when BC topped the Jackets 100-91 here in Founders Hall on Feb. 4, 1998. Defiance has won the last six meetings.
BC hopes to break streak against DC
Defiance has scored 100 or more points in five of the last six games against Bluffton, all six being Yellow Jacket victories. The Beavers ended a similar streak earlier this season as Mount St. Joseph visited Bluffton on Jan. 26 with a seven-game winning streak over BC, but the Beavers pulled out a 96-90 win.
The coaches
Bluffton is led by 13th-year head coach Guy Neal, who ranks fourth on the BC all-time wins list with 134 victories. Defiance head coach Tom Palombo is in his fifth season and owns an 81-51 overall record. Prior to taking over the men’s program, Palombo spent three seasons at the helm of the Defiance women’s program and compiled a record of 78-7.
Season records
Bluffton reached the .500 mark in late December with a 6-6 overall record, but the Beavers have seen their record slip to 9-14 overall. The Beavers have won two of their last four games, both in conference play, to see their HCAC record stand at 2-11.
Defiance is currently riding an eight-game winning streak, with seven of those wins coming in the HCAC. The Yellow Jackets are now 16-8 overall and in first place in the league with a 10-3 HCAC record.
Last game
Bluffton is coming off an 87-78 overtime victory at HCAC foe Transylvania University on Saturday. BC trailed by four points with less than a minute to play in regulation, but Derek DeNero scored five points in a seven-second span and Rod Overmyer sank a free throw with nine seconds left to force overtime, where Bluffton outscored the Pioneers 14-5. Overmyer scored his 1000th career points in the game and led the Beavers with 23 points, while DeNero added 21.
Defiance notched an 80-65 home win over Mount St. Joseph on Saturday to avenge an overtime loss to the Lions earlier in the season. Senior Eric Viney concluded his regular season home career with a team-high 21 points to move into sixth place on the all-time Defiance College scoring list with 1,556 points.
BC vs. DC earlier this season
Bluffton led Defiance by 14 points late in the first half, but the Yellow Jackets dominated the second half to take a 100-94 victory in Defiance on Jan. 16. BC shot 56% from the floor in the first half and hit nine 3-pointers, while Defiance shot just 39% over that stretch but trailed by just five points at halftime at 49-44. Bluffton built that lead back to eight points with 8:07 left to play, but was held to just three field goals for the rest of the game as Defiance came back to take the win.
Bluffton’s Mike Leimeister tied a career-high with 30 points, while Overmyer added 19 points and DeNero notched his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Jeremy Miklovic led Defiance with 21 points.
New faces for both teams
These two teams combined for 33 wins last season (Defiance was 17-11, Bluffton was 16-9), but graduation took many of the key players from those two teams. Bluffton said goodbye to seven of their top nine scorers, including all five starters, while Defiance lost four starters, including HCAC MVP Gavin Sever. The Yellow Jackets, however, were still picked third in the HCAC preseason coaches poll.
Bluffton leaders
Bluffton owns three of the top six scorers in the HCAC, including Rod Overmyer (1st, 18.6 ppg), Mike Leimeister (4th, 15.9 ppg) and Derek DeNero (6th, 15.1 ppg). Overmyer, a first team All-HCAC selection last season, leads the league in 3-pointers made (58), ranks 6th in free throw percentage (81.5%) and 11th in rebounding (5.1 rpg). Leimeister, the HCAC player-of-the-week on Dec. 16 and Jan. 27, ranks 3rd in field goal shooting (56.7%), 5th in free throw shooting (83.1%) and 5th in rebounding (6.1 rpg). DeNero, the HCAC player-of-the-week on Jan. 13, ranks 3rd in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and 9th in free throw shooting (80.6%). In addition, Marcus Bixler leads the HCAC in assists (5.1 apg) and ranks 6th in assist-turnover ratio (1.5).
Defiance leaders
Senior Eric Viney has scored over 1,500 points in his career at Defiance and leads the Yellow Jackets with 15.8 points per game this season (5th in HCAC). The HCAC player-of-the-week on Dec. 23, he leads the league in steals (2.0 spg) and ranks 12th in rebounding (5.1 rpg). Defiance guards Mike Kurdziel and Mylon Betts form one of the best backcourt combinations in the HCAC. Kurdziel, a junior, leads the HCAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1) and ranks high in many other statistics, including 3-point field goal percentage (2nd, 47.5%), free throw percentage (3rd, 84.1%), assists (3rd, 3.5 apg) and scoring (10th, 13.8 ppg). Betts, a sophomore, was named the HCAC player-of-the-week on Dec. 9 and ranks among the HCAC leaders in steals (3rd, 1.8 spg), 3-pointers (3rd, 44), 3-point shooting percentage (4th, 44.9%) and averages 10.9 points per game.
Statistical matchups
Bluffton is one of the best shooting squads in the HCAC this season. The Beavers rank first in the league in free throw shooting at 77.9%, which ranks 18th in the country (NCAA Division III). BC ranks 3rd in the HCAC in overall field goal shooting (46.0%) and fourth in 3-point shooting (36.0%).
Defiance ranks third in the nation (NCAA Division III) in scoring, averaging 91.2 points per game. Their 8.4 3-pointers per game leads the HCAC, as does their 18.4 assists per game and 1.2 assist-turnover ration. But the Jackets can play defense, too, as DC leads the HCAC in blocked shots (4.2 bpg in HCAC games) and ranks second in steals (9.8 spg). However, Defiance is allowing 85.2 points per game, which ranks 8th in the league.
3-point streak continues
Bluffton has made at least one 3-point field goal in 239 consecutive games. The last time BC didn’t make a 3-pointer was Jan. 6, 1993, against Adrian College when BC was 0-1 from behind the arc.
Happy Birthday Founders Hall
Last Tuesday, Feb. 5, marked the 50th anniversary of the first game played in Founders Hall. Bluffton defeated Ashland 61-59 in overtime in that first game and has won 283 of 542 games played here in the last 50 seasons for a winning percentage of 52.2%. Visit the BC men’s basketball website for a complete history of Founders Hall, along with construction photos.
Around the HCAC
Also on the HCAC schedule for Wednesday night, Anderson hosts Transylvania, Franklin hosts Manchester and Mount St. Joseph hosts Hanover.
