By: Colton Steiner
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Bluffton Beavers would head south and face off agains the Transylvania Pioneers, who took the first matchup earlier in the season, 67-65. A hot start would be the key as the Pioneers would jump up front and not look back as they handed the Beavers a 75-61 loss. Bluffton drops to 8-14 on the season and move to 6-9 in conference play, while Transylvania improves to 13-8 overall and to 11-4 in the HCAC.
William Layfield (West Chester/Lakota West) would get things going for the Beavers, scoring the first five points for the team as they would lead 5-2 with 12:54 left to play in the half. The Pioneers would jump up front 15-11, but a 5-0 spurt from the Beavers, including a 2-for-2 trip to the foul line from Andre Irvin (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange), allowed Bluffton to jump up front 16-15. While the visitors were able to take the lead, it would be short lived as Transylvania would get in a rhythm and close out the half outscoring the Beavers 20-6 as they led 36-22 at the break.
Bluffton would come out in the second half with a jumper from Andre Irvin and a trifecta from Justice Thompson that made it 43-27, but a 6-2 run allowed the home team to go up 20 with 14:54 left to play. With 11:18 remaining in regulation, the Beavers were able to get back-to-back triples from Curshaun Walker (East Chicago, Ind./Bishop Noll) and Jaxon Foster (Lima/Bath) to make it 51-37. The Pioners would have an answer for whatever Bluffton did on offense, as they would be unable to cut the deficit under 14 in the final 10 minutes as Transylvania would walk away with a 75-61 win on their home court.
Leading the Beavers in scoring was Curshaun Walker, who dropped a career-high 11 on 3-of-6 shooting, while also snagging a pair of steals. William Layfield and Justice Thompson (Ashland/Crestview) would tally almost identitcal numers, each adding 10 to go along with six boards a piece.
Bluffton would struggle to find the bottom of the net, hitting just 32.8 percent (22-of-67) of their shots from the floor, including 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from behind the arc. The Beaver defense would hold Transylvania to 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the floor and only allowing them to hit 4-of-26 (15.4 percent) of their shots from three. While they did manage to pick away 13 Pioneer turnovers, Transylvania dominated the glass, holding a 55-36 advantage in the battle of the boards.
The Beavers will look ahead to the Spartans, who they picked up a 84-70 win over on Jan. 28 on Copeland Court. They will travel to Manchester on Wednesday, Feb. 11, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.
-Beavers-