By: Colton Steiner
ANDERSON, Ind. - The Bluffton Beavers would travel west to Anderson University to compete in the HCAC Quarterfinals for the first time since the 2019-20 season. After an offensive first half from both teams, Anderson would pull ahead in the second half. Despite a late comeback from the Beavers, Bluffotn would fall on the road as the Ravens took the contest with a 103-89 win. With the loss, the Beavers season comes to a close, finishing 9-17 overall and 7-11 in the HCAC, while Anderson improves 17-9 and advances to the HCAC semi-finals.
Andre Irvin (Lewis Center, Ohio / Olentangy Orange) would get things started for Bluffton, knocking down a triple to put the Beavers up 3-0 in the first minute. The Ravens would answer right back, going on a 17-4 run before Nevin Robson (Kenton, Ohio / Hardin Northern) would split a pair of free throws to make it a nine point game with 13:51 left in the half. Down 22-13 with 11:50 left, Justice Thompson (Ashland, Ohio / Crestview) would find the bottom of the net on back-to-back attempts from deep to cut the deficit to five, as Anderson held a 24-19 lead at the 10:52 mark of the first half. Following two made free throws from the Ravens, Nevin Robson would get an old-fashioned three-point play, cutting the deficit to just four with just over nine minutes to play. After Anderson managed to extend their lead to 36-23 after a 10-1 run, Bluffton was able to cut the deficit back down to single digits following a Jaxon Foster (Lima, Ohio / Bath) triple with 5:58 left in the half as the Ravens led 36-28. The two teams would exchange buckets and after a pair of Nevin Robson free throws cut the deficit to 41-33 with 4:14 remaining, Anderson would close the half outscoring the Beavers 16-8 as they would hold a 57-41 lead at the break.
The home team would carry the momentum into the second half as they would start the second half on an 18-5 run, extending their lead to 75-46 headed into the first media timeout. Bluffton would slowly work down the deficit, and after an 21-6 run from the Beavers, the lead would be down to 14 as Anderson would be up 81-67 with 8:45 left to play. Despite cutting the Ravens lead in half, Bluffton would be unable to stop the offensive force of Anderson as they would have an answer for whatever the Beavers threw their way. JD Stokes (West Harrison, Ind. / Franklin County) would roll in a layup with 2:01 remaining to make it 97-85, but the Ravens would hit back-to-back threes in the final minutes, putting the nail in the coffin of an impressive comeback as they would hand the Beavers a 103-89 loss.
Nevin Robson would stuff the statsheet for Bluffton, dropping career-highs in points and assists, scoring 30 and dishing out seven dimes. Robson would also snag a team-high 10 boards in the contest while snatching three steals, and also finished the contest going 14-of-19 from the charity stripe. Also contributing for the Beavers was JD Stokes, who scored 14 and grabbed five rebounds, and William Layfield (West Chester, Ohio / Lakota West), who tallied 12 while securing four boards, four assists, and four steals. Jaxon Foster and Justice Thompson each rounded out the double-digit scoring, each scoring 10 with two threes apiece.
Finishing the day with a 52.9 percent (37-of-70) clip from the field, the Ravens were too much to stop as they would also connect on 15-of-36 of their shots from behind the arc (41.7 percent). While the Beavers hit the exact same percentage from deep at 41.7 percent (10-of-24), they would hit just 45.3 percent (29-of-64) of their shots from the floor. Anderson was all over the glass, winning the battle of the boards 42-37, while also edging out Bluffton in second chance points with a 22-19 advantage. While the Beavers would hold a 23-18 advantage in points off turnovers, the Ravens would outscore them in the paint, 42-38.
As Bluffton's men's basketball season comes to an end, continue to check the Bluffton Men's Basketball Webpage over the coming weeks for updated record books and all-conference honors.
-Beavers-