By: Colton Steiner

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton Beavers would host the Earlham Quakers and see them for the first time, where the contest would finish in an overtime thriller. After a late comeback from the Quakers to force an extra period, Bluffton would pull away in the final minutes and knocking off Earlham 96-87. Following back-to-back victories, the Beavers now sit at 5-10 on the season and 3-5 in conference play, while the Quakers drop to 1-14 overall and stay winless in the HCAC at 0-8.

Earlham would get things started by going up 6-0 before a Jaxon Foster (Lima, Ohio / Bath) layup got Bluffton on the board to make it 6-2 with 16:46 left in the first half. The Beaver offense would struggle to find a flow as the Quakers would extend their lead to double-digits to lead 19-9 before an Andre Irvin (Lewis Center, Ohio / Olentangy Orange) three would cut the deficit to seven with under 10 minutes till the break. Trailing 23-16, Bluffton would erupt and go on a 6-1 run to bring the Earlham lead to one possession after a Nevin Robson (Kenton, Ohio / Hardin Northern) lay in put the score at 24-22 with 5:12 remaining on the clock. The two teams would exchange buckets as the Quakers would go into the break with a 29-27 lead at the half. 

The two teams would go right at it to start the half, and after Earlham would go up 32-29, the Beavers found themselves on a 9-0 spurt that gave them a 38-32 lead at the first media timeout at 15:37. Over the next couple minutes, the Quakers would respond and cut the Bluffton lead to one, until a three from Jaxon Foster and a layup from Ian Snelling (Erlanger, Ky. / Dixie Heights) would give the Beavers a two-possession lead at 46-40 with 12:38 left in regulation. Both offenses would find a rhythm, exchanging buckets until Bluffton would get layups from Justice Thompson (Ashland, Ohio / Crestview) and William Layfield (West Chester, Ohio / Lakota West) to give the hosts a 60-49 lead with 8:46 remaining. The Beavers three possession lead would be held until a 9-3 run from the visitors would cut the lead to one, making it 70-69 with 3:06 left to play. An Ian Snelling lay up would put Bluffton up three, but Earlham would connect on a shot from behind the arc to even up the score at 72-72 with 1:20 remaining in regulation. The Quakers would retake the lead 76-74 after a little 4-2 run, but after a pair of successfull free throws from Ian Snelling with 12 seconds left, the Beavers would be able to force overtime. 

After the extra period started with the teams going back and forth, a layup and an old fashioned three-point play from William Layfield would give Bluffton a 85-80 lead with 3:08 remaining. A pair of free throws from Earlham would cut the lead to three, but an 8-0 run from the Beavers that was capped off with a triple from Andre Irvin, extended the home teams lead to 93-82 with one minute to play. Earlham managed to cut the lead to single digits, but there would be no time to force a comeback as the Beavers would come away with a 96-87 victory. 

Leading the Beavers with 21 points was Ian Snelling, who also dished out three assists and snagged four rebounds in the contest. Right behind him was Nevin Robson, who recorded his ninth career double-double, scoring 16 with 11 rebounds while adding four dimes. Andre Irvin would record a team-high seven assists to go along with his 16 points while Jaxon Foster would add 12 on 4-of-4 shooting and 2-of-2 from deep. Coming off the bench with a +15 was William Layfield, who tallied 11 with seven boards and four assists in 27 minutes, with Justice Thompson adding 12 reserve points. 

Despite the slow start offensively, Bluffton would finish the contest with a 52.1 percent (37-of-71) mark from the floor, while going 6-of-18 from downtown. Earlham managed to only shoot 43.1 percent (31-of-72) from the floor, and while they went 12-of-33 (36.4 percent) from three, the defense from the Beavers forced 19 Quaker turnovers that lead to 21 Bluffton points. The Beavers dominated the paint, outscoring Earlham 60-32, but the visitors would be all over the glass, winning the rebounding battle 49-36. 

Bluffton will get right back in action as they get set to host the Berea Mountaineers on Saturday, Jan. 17 with a 3 p.m. tipoff. 

-Beavers-