Bluffton College saw tournament host Albion College go on a 13-1 scoring run in the final seven minutes of the game to defeat the Beavers 56-54 Friday night in the opening game of the Albion College Tip-Off Tournament in Albion, Michigan.
Bluffton led 8-0 after the first four minutes and held a 31-26 lead at halftime. A field goal by sophomore Brad Boyles with 7:50 left in the game put the Beavers up 53-43, but it would be Bluffton's last field goal of the night as Albion took the lead with 4:06 left to play and would not let BC reclaim the lead.
Bluffton outscored Albion 18-2 in the points-off-turnovers department and held the Britons to a 9-34 (26.5%)shooting performance from 3-point range. The Beavers also outrebounded AC 39-36.
Junior Mike Leimeister scored a career high 16 points in the ballgame and grabbed seven rebounds, while junior Marcus Bixler also netted a career high with 10 points. Junior Derek DeNero collected a game-high eight rebounds.
