The series
Bluffton leads the all-time series 13-9, which began back in the 1924-25 season. The home team has been victorious in this series in the last 12 meetings, with the last win by the visiting team occurring on Dec. 11, 1993 when Bluffton took a 57-51 win in Adrian.
The coaches
Bluffton is led by 13th-year head coach Guy Neal, who ranks fourth on the BC all-time wins list with 127 victories. Adrian is led by Buck Riley, who is in his 19th season at Adrian. He is originally from Upper Sandusky, Ohio and was the head coach at nearby Kenton H.S. from 1972-76.
Season records
Bluffton is 2-3 after dropping two HCAC games last week. Adrian began the season 2-0 but is now 4-2.
Last meeting
Nov. 22, 2000: Adrian 71, Bluffton 57.
Bluffton senior Jeremy Roberts led all scorers with 32 points, the second-best point total of his career, as he hit 12 of 17 shots and collected eight rebounds and four assists. Adrian held statistical advantages over the Beavers in field goal shooting (47% to 40%) and rebounding (40-27), and held a 39-26 halftime lead
Last game
Bluffton is coming off a 74-51 loss to undefeated Hanover College here on Saturday. Senior Rod Overmyer led BC with 15 points, including two 3-pointers, but the visitors shot 71.4% from the floor in the second half to deny Bluffton a chance to get back into the game. BC committed fewer turnovers than Hanover (13 to 14) and collected more steals (7 to 6), but the hot-handed Panthers canned a dozen 3-pointers and out-rebounded Bluffton 33-26
On Saturday Adrian outscored visiting Goshen College 44-27 in the second half to earn an 82-67 victory. Goshen led 40-38 at halftime and held the lead for the first eight minutes of the second half before back-to-back 3-pointers from Adrian’s Steve Brooks and Tom Cieker gave the Bulldogs the lead for good midway through the second half. Brooks scored a game-high 25 points.
The players
Bluffton returns four letterwinners this season from last year’s 16-9 squad, which finished one game back of the Heartland Conference regular season title. Adrian returns three players who received all-league honors from last season’s 14-13 squad.
With 29 points in the last two games, Bluffton junior Derek DeNero has taken over the team lead in scoring this season with 12.8 ppg. He ranks 12th in the league in scoring, 4th in rebounding (7.4 rpg), 2nd in free throw percentage (.917) and 4th in steals (2.4 spg). Two other players are also averaging a dozen or more points per game, including junior Mike Leimeister (12.6 ppg) and senior Rod Overmyer (12.0 ppg). Junior Marcus Bixler leads the HCAC in assists with 6.40 per game.
Adrian junior Dan Walter, a 6-5 forward, is in the midst of an MVP-type season. He is averaging 19.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this season, both of which rank second in the league. He ranks first in offensive rebounds (3.0 orpg) and his 2.5 three-pointers per game rank second. Walter was a second team All-MIAA selection last season and was named the MIAA Player of the Week once in November.
Hitting the road
Adrian is beginning a six-game road trip today that will span a total of 35 days between home games. Their next game at the Merillat Sports and Fitness Center will be on January 5. Bluffton is gearing up for some time away from home, as well, as the Beavers won’t return to Founders Hall after tonight’s game until the McDonald’s of Bluffton Holiday Tournament December 28 and 29.
League rankings
Bluffton ranks among the HCAC leaders in defense this season, ranking second in field goal percentage defense (.431) and third in scoring defense (68.4 ppg allowed). The Beavers are third in rebounding margin (+2.4).
Adrian leads the MIAA in 3-pointers made (64), steals (10.5 spg), offensive rebounds (15.0 orpg) and turnover margin (+4.2). The Bulldogs rank second in scoring offense (81.5 ppg) and free throw percentage (.755).
Around the HCAC
Three other league games are on the HCAC schedule Wednesday as Hanover hosts Franklin, Anderson hosts Manchester and Mount St. Joseph hosts Transylvania. Thursday in non-league action Defiance hosts Urbana.
