By: Colton Steiner

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Bluffton Beavers would hit the road after a three-game homestand to face off against the Mount St. Joseph Lions, who knocked off the Beavers earlier in the season 83-68. A slow start offensively put the Beavers behind early and they were unable to cut the deficit as they fell to the Lions 83-71. With the loss, Bluffton drops to 6-11 on the season and move to 4-6 in the HCAC, while Mount St. Joseph improves to 9-8 overall and 7-3 in conference play.

After the Lions would jump ahead to a 4-0 start, the Beavers would get their first bucket of the game off a JD Stokes (West Harrison, Ind. / Franklin County) layup to cut the deficit to 2 at the 17:38 mark of the first half. Following a 16-6 for the home team, Bluffton managed to cut the deficit to single digits after a three from Jaxon Foster (Lima, Ohio / Bath) made it 20-11 with 7:32 left in the half. Both teams would exchange baskets, but Mount St. Joseph would outscore the Beavers 10-2 in the final 4:22 to go into the break with a 37-22 lead. 

Bluffton would come out firing, going on an 8-0 run to start the half that included back-to-back triples from Ian Snelling (Erlanger, Ky. / Dixie Heights) and Andre Irvin (Lewis Center, Ohio / Olentangy Orange) to cut the deficit to 37-30 just two minutes in. The two teams would go back and forth, and after an Andre Irvin layup, the Beavers would trail 43-37 with 15:17 left to play. Despite cutting the deficit to two possessions, Mount St. Joseph managed to extend their lead to double-digits and not look back as the Lions would hold on to win 83-71. 

Both Ian Snelling and Andre Irvin paced the Beavers with 22 points each, with Snelling snagging a team high eight boards on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting. Adding 10 with six rebounds was Nevin Robson (Kenton, Ohio / Hardin Northern), while JD Stokes dished out a career high with five assists. 

Bluffton finished the contest with a better shooting percentage from the field, going 27-of-60 (45.0 percent) while holding the Lions to 43.1 percent (28-of-65) for the game. Mount St. Joseph managed to hit more threes, going 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) from deep, while the Beavers hit a higher percentage at 43.8 percent (7-of-16). The home team would win the battle of the boards with a 41-36 advantage and wrecked havoc on defense, forcing 12 Bluffton turnovers that led to 21 points for the Lions. While the Beavers were dominant in transition, outscoring Mount St. Joseph 20-7 in fastbreak points, the Lions did get more points from their bench with a 23-9 advantage on the visitors. 

Bluffton will look to put this loss in their rearview mirror as they come back home to host the Hanover Panthers on Saturday, Jan. 24, with tipoff set for 4 p.m., following the women's contest that tips at 2 p.m.

-Beavers-