By: Colton Steiner
TIFFIN, Ohio - The Bluffton University men hit the road for the first time of the season, traveling east to go up against the Heidelberg Student Princes on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Despite a strong start from the Beavers, the Student Princes pulled away in the second half as Bluffton fell to 0-3 on the season, while Heidelberg evened up its record at 2-2.
Bluffton would jump out to a 9-0 start after a JD Stokes (West Harrison, Ind./Franklin County) hook shot, and following the Student Princes first bucket of the game, Andre Irvin (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) connected on a three-pointer to give the Beavers a 12-2 lead at the 16:18 mark of the first half. The visitors were up 19-9 when their hot start faded as Heidelberg cut the deficit to four after going on a 9-3 run, cutting it to 22-18 with 8:46 left in the half. Following a Brendan Williams (Kenton/Hardin Northern) triple and a successful trip to the foul line from Nevin Robson (Kenton/Hardin Northern) the Beavers led 27-20, but another spurt from the Student Princes to end the half led to the home team holding a 30-29 lead at the break.
Heidelberg opened the second half like it ended the first half, rolling off 10 straight before a pair of free throws from JD Stokes and a Nevin Robson layup put the score at 40-33 with 16:22 to play. Trailing 50-42, Bluffton was able to cut the lead down to one as Justice Thompson (Ashland/Crestview) connected on a shot from downtown that was followed by a Carson Clum (Harrod/Allen East) layup.
The two teams continued to battle and the Beavers were within three after a Nevin Robson layup, but four straight Heidelberg free throws and a three-ball pushed the home team to a 69-59 spread with less than two minutes to play. While Bluffton pulled within five, they were unable to get over the hump as the Student Princes sealed the game with a pair of free throws, handing the Beavers a 75-68 defeat.
Leading Bluffton with a game high 23 points was senior Nevin Robson, who added an impressive 14 boards and snagged three steals. Also in double figures for the Beavers was Andre Irvin who scored 10 with five rebounds and a pair of assists. Justice Thompson added 11 on 4-of-7 shooting from the field.
Bluffton hit just 27-of-68 (39.7 percent) from the floor, including 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from behind the arc. Heidelberg would get some work in at the charity stripe, hitting 20-of-24 (83.3 percent) from the line while the Beavers went to the charity stripe just seven times, going 6-of-7 (85.7 percent). The visitors were all over the battle of the boards, winning 37-33 and holding an staggering 14-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Beavers will continue their road trip when they travel to Kalamazoo on Friday, Nov. 21, looking for their first win of the season, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
-BEAVERS-