December 28, 2007
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Ohio Dominican men's basketball team used a 17-4 run late in the first half to knot the score at 28 en route to a 66-56 victory over Concordia University in the first game of the 10th annual McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Tournament on Friday, Dec. 28, 2007. The Panthers improved to 7-4 with the victory while Concordia fell to 4-9 on the season. The Cardinals will move into the consolation game against Millikin University on Saturday, Dec. 29, at 1 p.m. in Founders Hall. Ohio Dominican earned the right to play tournament host Bluffton University on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Ohio Dominican and Concordia traded hoops until the Cardinals opened up a 24-11 lead at the 9:54 mark of the first half following a pair of Dennis Meaney layins and five points from Kyle Thoms who capped the burst with a deep triple.
The Cardinals managed only one basket over the next 9:20 as Ohio Dominican chipped away at Concordia's lead. Bryan West hit from downtown and Jim McCurdy sandwiched a pair of threes around a Sonny Stattmiller chip shot to even the score at 26 with just under four minutes to play in the opening half.
Joe Schmall put Ohio Dominican on top by a deuce at the one-minute mark, but Fernando Cardenas answered with 26 ticks remaining as the Panthers and Cardinals went to the break tied at 28.
West and McCurdy dialed long distance for ODU early in the second period as the Panthers started to wear down Concordia. Jimmy Russell dropped in a three-pointer for the Panthers and Schmall tallied four straight points to make it a 12-point Ohio Dominican lead, 51-39, midway through the half.
Anthony Bates hit a pair from the foul line and buried a jumper to keep the visitors within seven points, 54-47, at the 6:15 mark, but that was as close as the Cardinals would get. Brian Busch and Jim McCurdy got to the hoop and Matt Winters nailed both of his attempts at the line as Ohio Dominican moved into the championship game against Bluffton University with a 66-56 victory over Concordia.
Anthony Bates and Kyle Thoms led the Cardinals with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Thoms pulled down a team-high six rebounds and he also led Concordia with five assists. Concordia hit 22 of-55 from the field for 40 percent, including 6-for-14 (42.9 percent) from outside the arc. The Cardinals pulled down 29 rebounds and picked up 10 steals.
Jim McCurdy led four Panthers in double digits with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including 4-of-8 on triples. Sonny Stattmiller dropped in 13 points while Joe Schmall and Bryan West added 12 and 10, respectively. Schmall ripped down a game-high 13 boards and Stattmiller dished out seven assists in the victory. Ohio Dominican finished 25-for-56 (44.6 percent) from the field, including 8-of-21 (38. 1 percent) on threes. The victors pulled down 36 rebounds and doled out 17 assists.
Concordia will now meet Millikin University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 29, in the consolation game of the McDonald's of Bluffton Holiday Tournament while Ohio Dominican moves into the finals where the Panthers will face host Bluffton University at 3 p.m. in Founders Hall.
-BEAVERS-
