Senior forward Clayton Barlow-Wilcox led three Tartans in double figures with 27 points, shooting 7-8 from the field in 11 minutes of action in the first half. Senior forward Nate Maurer followed with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Senior guard A.J. Straub continued his three-point consecutive game streak with five baskets from long range to total 15 points.
Despite the 13-point loss, the Tartans made a game of it after trailing 45-42 at the half. After a 21-11 run that stretched the Beaver lead to 12 points (66-54) with 12:39 to play, Carnegie Mellon cut the deficit to four points with a 18-10 run fueled by Barlow-Wilcox (ten points) and Maurer (five points). Four points is as close as the Tartans would come, as the Beavers built and maintained a 16 point lead by making 11 of 16 free throws over the final six minutes.
For the game, Bluffton capitalized off 20 Tartan turnovers putting up 26 points, including 17 in the second half. The Beavers also shot well from behind the arc making 11 of 19 attempts for a 57.9 percentage. Free throw attempts were a factor as Bluffton got to the line 33 times, making 23, 11 more than Carnegie Mellon attempted.
The Beavers finished with five men in double figures, with Scott Bergman leading the way with 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Newspaper Box Score Carnegie Mellon vs Bluffton University Men 1/02/06 7:30 p.m. at Bluffton University Founders Hall At Bluffton University Founders Hall BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY MEN 96, CARNEGIE MELLON 83 CARNEGIE MELLON (10-1) Barlow-Wilcox, C. 12-18 3-5 27; Maurer, Nate 8-11 3-4 19; Straub, A.J. 5-10 0-0 15; Gonzalez, Greg 4-6 0-1 8; Matta, Brad 3-4 0-0 6; Kozak, Geoff 1-4 0-0 3; Johnson, Marques 1-4 1-2 3; O'Rourke, Corey 1-3 0-0 2; Dunn, Bary 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 35-65 7-12 83. BLUFFTON UNIVERSITY MEN (10-1) Scott Bergman 7-16 6-10 26; Michael Anthony 5-11 6-6 16; Eric Schwieterman 5-8 5-6 15; Eric Sweet 5-9 3-6 13; Ricky Reucher 4-5 0-1 10; Darren Clark 2-4 2-2 8; David Patch 2-3 0-0 5; Colt Cunningham 1-1 1-2 3; Tom Heil 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-59 23-33 96. Carnegie Mellon............... 42 41 - 83 Bluffton University Men....... 45 51 - 96 3-point goals-Carnegie Mellon 6-16 (Straub, A.J. 5-8; Kozak, Geoff 1-3; O'Rourke, Corey 0-1; Dunn, Bary 0-3; Maurer, Nate 0-1), Bluffton University Men 11-19 (Scott Bergman 6-9; Darren Clark 2-3; Ricky Reucher 2-2; David Patch 1-2; Tom Heil 0-1; Eric Schwieterman 0-1; Michael Anthony 0-1). Fouled out--Carnegie Mellon-None, Bluffton University Men-None. Rebounds-Carnegie Mellon 32 (Maurer, Nate 8), Bluffton University Men 28 (Michael Anthony 10). Assists-Carnegie Mellon 28 (Kozak, Geoff 7), Bluffton University Men 23 (Eric Schwieterman 7). Total fouls-Carnegie Mellon 26, Bluffton University Men 14. A-200