Denison never really found a rhythm offensively and were hampered by Bluffton's abilities to play the passing lanes and force turnovers. The Beavers took control early, forcing the Big Red into 17 first half miscues to take a 37-23 lead at the break.
In the second half Denison cut down the turnovers but were unable to overcome the halftime deficit. Bluffton senior Eric Sweet led all scorers with 18 points off 6-of-9 shooting. The 6'6" center also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and had four blocks in 25 minutes of action.
Colt Cunningham came off the bench to score 12 points and Michael Anthony finished with 10 for the Beavers.
Denison was led by junior Dan Hodgkinson who scored 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds in 26 minutes. Hodgkinson was 7-of-15 from the field also had a pair of steals.
Tony Julian and Robb Hern both had 10 points for Denison.
Despite losing the turnover battle 26-15, Denison did out rebound Bluffton (5-1) by 14. As a team the Big Red pulled down 40 rebounds while the Beavers managed 26 caroms. Hern and Hodgkinson both had eight boards to lead DU.
Now 2-6 overall, Denison still has two thirds of their season remaining and plenty of time to right the ship. They will try and get back into the win column next Saturday against Wabash College at 7 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score
Bluffton vs Denison
12-10-05 1:00 p.m. at Granville, Ohio {Livingston Gymnasium}
At Granville, Ohio {Livingston Gymnasium}
BLUFFTON 76, DENISON 53
BLUFFTON (5-1)
Eric Sweet 6-9 6-9 18; David Patch 4-5 2-2 12; Michael Anthony 4-8 1-1 10;
Scott Bergman 4-11 0-0 8; Colt Cunningham 2-5 2-2 7; Eric Schwieterman 1-2
4-4 6; Ricky Reucher 3-3 0-0 6; Darren Clark 2-4 0-2 4; Tom Heil 1-5 0-0 3;
Jeremy Diekman 0-1 2-2 2; Joe Duzan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-54 17-22 76.
DENISON (2-6)
Dan Hodgkinson 7-15 2-2 16; Robb Hern 4-6 2-2 10; Tony Julian 3-10 4-6 10;
Jordan Krantz 2-12 3-4 8; Mike Shea 1-1 0-0 3; Shea McMahon 1-2 0-0 3; Dan
Izzo 1-2 0-0 2; Steve Koecheler 0-1 0-0 0; John Ward 0-1 0-0 0; Chris Eberst
0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 12-16 53.
Bluffton...................... 37 39 - 76
Denison....................... 23 30 - 53
3-point goals-Bluffton 5-14 (David Patch 2-2; Tom Heil 1-2; Colt Cunningham
1-3; Michael Anthony 1-1; Darren Clark 0-2; Joe Duzan 0-1; Scott Bergman
0-3), Denison 3-12 (Mike Shea 1-1; Shea McMahon 1-1; Jordan Krantz 1-5; John
Ward 0-1; Chris Eberst 0-2; Tony Julian 0-1; Robb Hern 0-1). Fouled
out--Bluffton-None, Denison-None. Rebounds-Bluffton 26 (Eric Sweet 6),
Denison 40 (Robb Hern 8; Dan Hodgkinson 8). Assists-Bluffton 15 (Scott
Bergman 7), Denison 8 (Jordan Krantz 2; Mike Shea 2). Total fouls-Bluffton
18, Denison 19. A-275