By: IC led by as many as eight points early in the second half, but Bluffton stormed back and hit its free throws down the stretch for an 82-74 win.
Box Score
BLUFFTON, Ohio – Illinois College shot 54 percent from the floor, but couldn't overcome a 35-24 rebounding deficit which allowed Bluffton to score 20 second-chance points as the Beavers won the championship game of the Bluffton McDonald's Holiday Tournament by a score of 82-74. The Blueboys are now 5-5 on the season.
Illinois College took its only lead of the first half within two minutes after
Max Stutsman tied the game at 3-3 with an old-fashioned three-point play and Brady Hays staked the Blueboys to a one-point advantage on a three-ball for a 6-5 lead. Bluffton scored the next time down the floor to go back on top, and the Beavers would go on top by as many as 10 points, 34-24, with 5:30 left in the opening 20 minutes. The Blueboys closed the first half strong to trail only 38-36 at the break.
After falling behind by two at the break, a fast start to the second half staked Illinois College to its largest lead of the game, 49-41, four minutes into the second half. Bluffton countered with a 9-2 run to pull within one, then took the lead with consecutive triples with less than seven minutes to play to make it 66-61. IC had one last rally in it, tying the score at 66 on a
Riley Dugan layup and
Tim Parks three-pointer, but the Beavers had the next six points and hit their free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
Stutsman and
Mason Speer were All-Tournament selections for the Blueboys. Stutsman had a team-high 20 points on the night, while Speer contributed 15 points, six assists and five rebounds. Hays made it into double-figures as well, ending with 12 points in the contest.
Illinois College returns to Midwest Conference action with a home matchup against Cornell College on Jan. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
