Bluffton currently 6-5 on season as team opens conference play on Wednesday
By Ben Risinger, SID
1-6-04
The Bluffton College men’s basketball team (6-5, 0-0 HCAC) hosted the McDonald’s of Bluffton Holiday Tournament last week. The Beavers battled into overtime with Lake Erie and won the contest 76-70. With the win over Lake Erie, Guy Neal became the winningest men’s basketball coach in the history of Bluffton College with 151 wins. In the championship game of the tourney Bluffton fell to Goshen College 68-47. On Saturday Bluffton battled Adrian College (Mich.) and lost the contest 78-67. The Beavers will open up conference action this Wednesday when they host Manchester College. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
Bluffton 76, Lake Erie 71 in overtime
The Bluffton College men’s basketball team (6-3) beat Lake Erie (3-8) 76-71 in overtime Monday night. The win advances the Beavers to the championship game of the McDonald’s of Bluffton Holiday Tournament. Bluffton will play Goshen at 3 p.m. with Millikin playing Lake Erie at 1 p.m. in the consolation game.
The game was a close one as the lead was exchanged five times and the score tied eight times in the contest. Going into the locker room the Beavers held a 40-28 advantage over The Storm. To start the second half Lake Erie tightened the score to 48-48 all. The lead would never eclipse four for either team for the rest of the game as the Beavers found themselves up 67-64 with 10 seconds left in regulation. A quick three pointer by Lake Erie’s Trevor Replogle with one second left tied the game at 67 all sending it into overtime. In the overtime period Bluffton controlled possession of the ball as the Beavers went up to lead the entire time.
Leading Bluffton was senior Brad Boyles (Berne, Ind./South Adams) with 19 points for the night. Sophomores Scott Bergman (Elmore/Woodmore), Eric Sweet (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) and Brett Mitchell (Avon Lake/Avon Lake) all threw in 10 points to finish the double digit scoring. Freshman Michael Anthony (Ohio City/Delphos St. Johns) had a career high 11 rebounds which led the team.
Head coach Guy Neal picked up his 151st win which makes him the winningest men’s basketball coach in Bluffton College history.
Goshen 68, Bluffton 47
The Bluffton College men’s basketball (6-4) team fell to Goshen College (16-1) 68-47 in the championship game of the McDonald’s of Bluffton Holiday Tournament.
Goshen set the tone for the game from tip-off with a three-point basketball and a 0-3 lead, a lead they would not surrender the entire game. The Beavers found themselves at the short end of a 27-19 halftime score that would later expand to as much as 21 points for the Maple Leafs.
Bluffton managed only to shoot 31 percent from the field on the day compared to Goshen’s 46 percent mark. The Maple Leafs also out-matched the Beavers from beyond the arc with a 32 percent mark to the Beavers nine percent. Goshen also performed better at the foul line converting 75 percent of their shots while Bluffton converted 52 percent.
Leading Bluffton on the day was senior Brad Boyles who scored 12 points before fouling out early in the second half. Sophomore Eric Sweet added 10 points on the day while sophomore Simeon Talley (Columbus/Centennial) notched nine points and five assists. Bluffton’s leading scorer Scott Bergman was held to just nine points on the day. Both Boyles and Sweet were named to the All-Tournament team for Bluffton.
Adrian 78, Bluffton 67
Bluffton was handed a 78-67 home loss by Adrian College in the Beavers first game of the New Year. Bluffton moves to a record of 6-5 while Adrian College improves to 6-4 on the season.
Bluffton fell to a 41-31 point deficit at half which they would not be able to recovery from in the second half despite their 55 percent shooting from the field during the game. Bluffton was edged out by Adrian in three-pointers made, with an 8-5 mark, and in three-point percentage, 42 percent to 33 percent.
Taking the helm for Bluffton was the Beavers’ leading scorer to date sophomore Scott Bergman. Bergman posted 16 points going 5-11 from the field but only managed one three-pointer on the day. Senior Brad Boyles and freshman Michael Anthony each chipped in 11 points while junior Bryce Beilharz (Bluffton/Cory-Rawson) added 10 points.
Scott Bergman leads the team in scoring with 16.3 points per game which is good enough for fourth in the HCAC. Brad Boyles posts 15.5 points per game and leads the squad in field goal percentage at .646 percent (third in HCAC). He is also 41-53 from the free throw line for .774 percent. Eric Sweet leads the team in rebounding with 59 boards for the season (5.4 rebounds per game, seventh HCAC) and is third in scoring, averaging 9.6 ppg. Simeon Talley leads the team in assists with 33 for the season. As a team the Beavers lead the conference in total assists with 197.
