Box Score Bluffton University held a plus nine edge in the rebounding department, and held the Mount to 42 percent field goal shooting, including one-of-15 from behind the three-point arc, as they improved on a two-point lead at the half to end the Lions 2014-2015 season in the HCAC Tournament Semifinals, 64-52. The Mount completes the campaign, their second straight in the HCAC Tournament Second Round, at 19-7, their most successful season in the program's history. Bluffton, which had lost twice to the Mount in the regular season, advances to take on top-seeded Defiance College in the HCAC Tournament Championship on March 1 at Defiance.
Bluffton would bolt out to a 7-0 lead in the game, holding the Lions off the scoreboard until 16:56 was on the clock, when Femi Thompson (Cincinnati, OH/Aiken) scored on a layup. The Beavers would push their advantage out to 13-4 by by 13:48 of the first half. They would hold the lead in the game until 2;17 when Mark Allen (Cincinnati, OH/Northwest) put down a dunk to make the score 30-all. Bluffton, however, would hold a 34-32 lead at the intermission, despite allowing the Mount to shoot 50 percent from the field. The Lions went zero-for-six from long range in the first 20 minutes of action.
Both teams scored a solid clip in the early going of the second half, with the Lions finally able to wrest the lead away from the Beavers with 11:46 left in the game when Joel Scudder (Greendale, IN/South Dearborn) fired in the team's first, and lone, three-pointer in the game. The lead would change hands twice, with Allen helping to give the Mount a 48-47 advantage on two free throws with 6:35 on the clock. A short jump shot by the Mount's Bobby Murdock (Cincinnati, OH/Anderson) gave the Mount a 50-57 lead 24 seconds later. The Beavers then went on a 13-0 run, down to the 1:09 mark, hitting seven-of-eight free throws and holding the Mount to zero-for-three shooting, to grab a 60-50 lead, en route to the victory. Bluffton connected on 13-of-16 free throws in the second half, and forced seven turnovers. They also held a 19-13 rebounding advantage over the final 20 minutes of action.
Allen led the Mount with 20 points and also added four rebounds. Scudder and Thompson chipped in 10 points each, with Thompson adding four assists. Ken Kunkel (Cincinnati, OH/Colerain) had a team-high seven boards for the Lions. The Mount advance to last season's semifinals of the HCAC Tournament against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
