The Beavers outscored the Ravens 50-35 in the second half after the visitors led 38-33 at the break. Bluffton shot 52 percent in the second half compared to 32 percent for Anderson and made 22-of-24 free throws.
AU was led by J.D. Clampitt with 21 points and four rebounds. Clampitt hit 8-of-20 field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers. Lloyd DeLoatch also reached double figures with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. DeLoatch needs 10 steals in the final three games to break the school record of 68 in a season by current head coach Tom Slyder in 1988.
Dustin Simcoe had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench and Vynsynt Vann added eight points and a team-best four assists also off the bench. AU’s bench outscored its starters 43-30 in the game.
Bluffton was led by Scott Bergman with 31 points, including 13-of-13 from the free throw line. The Beavers hit 31-of-37 free throws in the game compared to 16-of-24 for the visitors.
The Beavers also held a 40-32 advantage on the boards and a 17-11 lead in assists. AU had the edge in turnovers (11-15) and steals (7-5).
In the first 17 minutes of the game, the teams combined for 10 lead changes and eight ties with neither team leading by more than AU’s four points at 13-9. Clampitt’s 3-pointer with a minute left gave the Ravens the biggest lead of the game for either team (38-33) and stood at the intermission.
The Ravens finally pushed the lead to seven points on a layup by Simcoe at the 13-minute mark to make the score 52-45. But Bluffton used a 12-5 run over the next four minutes to tie the game for the 11th time at 57-57.
The teams were tied a final time at 60 before the Beavers scored eight straight points to take control of the game with six minutes left. AU got as close as three points on two occasions in the final three minutes, but Bluffton hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
AU (8-15, 3-9 HCAC) hosts Manchester on Wednesday. The game will be carried live on WQME 98.7 FM and the internet broadcast at 7:30 p.m. from O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY MEN 83, ANDERSON UNIVERSITY 73 ANDERSON UNIVERSITY (8-15, 3-9 HCAC) Clampitt, J.D. 8-20 3-4 21; DeLoatch, Lloyd 4-11 2-2 12; Simcoe, Dustin 3-6 2-4 9; Vann, Vynsynt 3-9 0-0 8; Cochran, Nick 1-3 4-6 6; Vandergrift, Nick 2-5 1-2 5; Lafferty, Ian 1-3 3-4 5; Coleman, Terry 2-4 1-2 5; Baute, John 1-4 0-0 2; Foster, Ryne 0-0 0-0 0; Clark, Jeff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 16-24 73. BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY (16-7, 6-6 HCAC) Bergman, Scott 8-19 13-13 31; Sweet, Eric 4-12 7-9 15; Taylor, Aaron 4-8 6-7 15; Rufenacht, Justin 5-9 1-2 11; Stober, Josiah 1-2 2-3 4; Cunningham, Colt 1-3 0-0 3; Reucher, Ricky 1-1 0-0 2; Schwieterman, Eric 0-0 2-3 2; Wilson, Nick 0-2 0-0 0; Heil, Tom 0-0 0-0 0; Juenger, P.J. 0-0 0-0 0; Duzan, Joe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 31-37 83. Anderson University........... 38 35 - 73 Bluffton University....... 33 50 - 83 3-point goals-Anderson University 7-21 (DeLoatch, Lloyd 2-6; Vann, Vynsynt 2-3; Clampitt, J.D. 2-7; Simcoe, Dustin 1-1; Baute, John 0-2; Lafferty, Ian 0-1; Vandergrift, Nick 0-1), Bluffton University 4-16 (Bergman, Scott 2-9; Taylor, Aaron 1-3; Cunningham, Colt 1-3; Wilson, Nick 0-1). Fouled out--Anderson University-None, Bluffton University -Rufenacht, Justin. Rebounds-Anderson University 32 (Simcoe, Dustin 8), Bluffton University 40 (Sweet, Eric 11). Assists-Anderson University 11 (Vann, Vynsynt 4), Bluffton University 17 (Bergman, Scott 3; Taylor, Aaron 3). Total fouls-Anderson University 30, Bluffton University 24. A-700