Anderson Shuts Down Bluffton in Defensive Battle

The Anderson University men's basketball team faced off against the Bluffton University Beavers on Wednesday inside O.C. Lewis Gymnasium. The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest saw the Ravens (13-5, 8-3) pick up their third straight win as they defeated the Beavers (5-11, 1-7) by a final score of 52-42.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The contest started with both teams picking up a jump shot to make it a 2-2 game at 18 minutes, 17 seconds.
• From there it was a slow game as both the Ravens and the Beavers struggled to make a basket. The next point wouldn't come until 15:25 when Tate Ivanyo made a layup for the Ravens.
• Although the baskets started to flow some, there was a struggle for either side to get on a streak.
• With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Bluffton would drain a 3-pointer to tie the game up 10-10.
• Starting at 5:55, Austin Lyons tied the game up 14-14 before going on to make a free throw and give the Ravens the lead. From there, the Ravens began to extend their lead.
• Anderson closed out the first half on a 12-5 run over Bluffton to send the Ravens into the locker room with a 27-19 lead.
• Bluffton would come out of halftime and close in on the Ravens lead, making it a 29-27 game with 16 minutes remaining.
• Two minutes would go by before another basket was made. Maurice Knight added on three points to the Ravens lead with a layup followed by a free throw. Bluffton quickly responded with a three to come within two, making it a 32-30 game in favor of the Ravens.
• Another two-minute scoreless streak would go by before Camden Smith and Maurice Knight extended the Ravens lead to 37-30 over the Beavers.
• With 8:24 remaining in the game, the Ravens held a 12-point lead over the Beavers, the largest lead of the game, as Camden Smith made a free throw to give Anderson a 42-30 lead.
• Neither team would record a basket during the final two minutes of the game as the Ravens recorded a 52-42 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Anderson ended the game 18-of-51 (35.3 percent) from the field and held Bluffton to 16-of-49 (32.7 percent)
• The Ravens outscored the Beavers in the paint 30-16.
• Maurice Knight picked up 17 points, four steals and two rebounds for the Ravens.
• Francis Uzorh ended the game with 15 rebounds, six points, four blocks, and two steals.
• Austin Lyons came off the bench to add eight points, three rebounds to the Ravens final stat line.

HEAD COACH OWEN HANDY'S COMMENTS

• Good teams find a way to win when they don't play their best, and we figured that out [Wednesday]. To win a game while shooting 2-of-18 from 3-point range, says a lot about our defensive execution. Those were almost all good shots that just didn't fall.
• Frank (Uzorh) was really fantastic as a helpful defender and absolutely dominated the glass. As a team we showed a real commitment to defensive rebounding from the outset of the game.
• We've put ourselves in a good position so far, and now we've got to go play well on the road.

UP NEXT

Anderson now looks to extend their winning streak to four as they head to Richmond to take on the Earlham College Quakers (6-9, 2-6) on Saturday. Tipoff between the Ravens and Quakers is set for 3PM.