By: Colton Steiner
BEREA, Ky. - As the holiday season approaches, the Bluffton Beavers would hit the road to go up against the Berea College Mountaineers. The offense was flowing and the seniors were showing as Bluffton would come away with a 85-72 win on the road, sealing their first conference win of the season. Following the win, the Beavers sit at an overall record of 2-8 with a 1-3 mark in the HCAC, while the Mountaineers drop to 4-5 on the season and to 1-3 in conference play.
The threes would be falling early for Bluffton as they would start the contest by hitting 6-of-11 from behind the arc. Jaxon Foster (Lima, Ohio / Bath) and Ian Snelling (Erlanger, Ky. / Dixie Heights) would score nine points a pierce, each connecting on three triples as the Beavers would trail 24-22 with 11:02 left in the first half. Despite the hot start, Bluffton would allow the home team to go on a 7-0 run as they would fall behind 31-24 with 7:54 left to go in the half. The Beavers would answer with a little run of their own, with Justice Thompson (Ashland, Ohio / Crestview) connecting on a shot from deep to bring the visitors within two with 3:52 left, trailing 34-32. The one possession game wouldn't last long as Berea would close the half outscoring Bluffton 11-5 as the Mountaineers held a 45-37 lead at the break.
The Beavers would start the half hot and after back-to-back triples from JD Stokes (West Harrison, Ind. / Franklin County) and Jaxon Foster, the game would be evened up 51-51 with 14:40 left in regulation. Despite a 6-2 spurt from Berea, Bluffton would go on a little run of their own and after a three from Andre Irvin (Lewis Center, Ohio / Olentangy Orange), the Beavers would trail 60-58 with 12:07 remaining in regulation. After a bucket from the Mountaineers, JD Stokes would connect on another three and after a successful trip to the charity stripe for Nevin Robson (Kenton, Ohio / Hardin Northern), Bluffton would lead 63-62. Berea would retake the lead, but Ian Snelling would connect on a shot from deep behind the arc to go up 66-64 with just under ten minutes to play. After the two teams exchanged buckets, JD Stokes would drive to the rim from the corner and lay up a bucket as the Beavers would hold a 70-68 lead with 6:07 left to play. Berea would hit a three to go up 71-70, but a floater from Nevin Robson and a fastbreak layups from William Layfield (West Chester, Ohio / Lakota West) and Ian Snelling put the visitors up 76-71 with just under three minutes remaining in regulation. A 5-1 run from Bluffton extended the lead for the visitors to 81-72 with 1:21 left on the clock. The Beavers would close out the contest on a 4-0 spurt as they would walk away with a 85-72 victory over the Mountaineers.
Recording a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards was JD Stokes, who went 8-for-10 from the field, including a 2-for-3 mark from behind the arc. Ian Snelling added 18 of his own, hitting 4-of-6 triples, but also would record a double-double, dishing out a career high 12 assists. Also scoring for the Beavers was Nevin Robson with 17 and six boards, and Jaxon Foster tallying 14 with four threes.
Bluffton was lights out from the floor, hitting 55.6 percent (30-of-54) of their shots for the game, while also hitting 13-of-27 (48.1 percent) from downtown. The Beavers were all over the glass, winning the battle of the boards 37-32, despite turning the ball over 14 times in the contest. While the turnovers led to 15 points for the Mountaineers, the ball movement was still solid, as Bluffton posted a season-high 24 assists in the outing.
The Beavers will enjoy the win as they enter the holiday break before their next contest in 12 days on Monday, Dec. 29 when they travel to Adrian with a 7 p.m. start.
-Beavers-