Bluffton loses first two Heartland conference games
Sports Information Staff Report
January 12, 2004
The Bluffton men’s basketball team kicked off Heartland Conference play last week taking on Manchester and Hanover. Bluffton was defeated in both games losing to Manchester 72-63 at home and to Hanover 83-54 on the road. BC now stands with a 6-7 overall record and a 0-2 mark in the HCAC. The Beavers will continue HCAC league play this Wednesday at home against Franklin, tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Bluffton 63, Manchester 72
The Bluffton College men’s basketball team (6-6, 0-1 HCAC) lost their HCAC opener to Manchester College (7-5, 1-0 HCAC) 72-63 on Wednesday night.
The score of the game was a close one until the 7:15 mark in the first half when the Spartans pulled away with a seven point lead. At halftime the score was 38-31 in favor of Manchester. In the second half the Spartans took a 17 point lead with Bluffton battling their way back to tighten the score to 68-63 with 1:52 left in the game. The Spartans then held the ball and threw in foul shots for the remainder of the contest. Hurting the Beavers was the perimeter shooting of Manchester as they connected on 11 three pointers for the contest.
Leading Bluffton was Brad Boyles (Berne, Ind.) with 20 points and five steals (career high). Sophomore Eric Sweet (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) tied his career high of 18 points for game. Sophomore Scott Bergman (Elmore/Woodmore) scored 10 points for Bluffton and led in rebounding with five for night. Sophomore Simeon Talley (Columbus/Centennial) rounded off the double digit scoring by tying his career high in points with 11.
Bluffton 54, Hanover 83
The Bluffton College men’s basketball team (6-7, 0-2 HCAC) were defeated 83-54 by Hanover College (12-1, 2-0 HCAC) on Saturday afternoon.
Hanover came out quick in the ball game and controlled possession of the ball for much of the entire game. At halftime the score was 49-34 in favor of the Panthers. The Beavers spread things around in the second period as many bench players saw playing time, with the point breakdown being very evenly spread.
Leading Bluffton in scoring was senior Brad Boyles (Berne, Ind./South Adams) with 15 points on the contest, he also pulled down a team high five rebounds. Boyles was the only Beaver in double figures for the afternoon. Freshman David Patch (Minster/Minster) threw in nine for the game. Patch's nine points were a career high for the freshman.
Bluffton currently ranks 1st in the HCAC in rebounding defense (26.8) and assists (17.23). Bluffton is 2nd in the league in field goal percentage (.488) and assists/turnover ratio (1.20). The Beavers also currently ranks 3rd in rebounding margin (+4.7) and 4th in 3-point field goal percentage (.341).
Senior Brad Boyles currently leads Bluffton in scoring this season and ranks 4th in the HCAC with 15.8 points per game. He also is Bluffton’s and the HCAC’s most consistent shooting converting .658 percent of his field goals. Sophomore Scott Bergman currently ranks 8th in the HCAC in scoring with 14.9 points per game. Bergman leads the Beavers in both 3-pointers made with 30 (5th in the HCAC) and 3-point field goal percentage .423 (5th in the HCAC).
