BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Mount St. Joseph men's basketball team hit the road on Wednesday night, heading north to Bluffton to take on the Beavers in HCAC action. The Lions outscored the Beavers by 10 in the second half on their way to a 78-65 win, moving them back above .500 on the season and back to the .500 mark in league play.
The Lions opened the scoring in the game with a three-pointer from
Jason Lavender, but it was a slow start for both offenses. The Mount led for the first 7:46 of action before Bluffton took their first lead at 10-9. The action would be back and forth the rest of the first half, with the lead exchanging hands multiple times. The score was tied at 29 with 1:15 to play but a three from
Luke Collinsworth and a defensive stop helped the Mount carry a three point lead into the intermission.
Bluffton opened the second half with an 11-2 run, taking a game-high 6 point lead with 16:55 to play. The Lions answered with a 19-4 run of their own to take control of the game., a three pointer by
Dale Bush with 10:48 capped the run and gave the Lions a nine point lead. From that point the Mount maintained a lead of at least seven the rest of the way, stretching it out to a game high 16 with 4:16 to go. They were able to 8-for-8 from the free throw line over the final two minutes of the game to secure the 78-65 win.
Collinsworth led the way offensively for the Lions with a game-high 22 points, to go along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, a block and a steal.
Joe Brand registered the first double-double in his Lions career with a 15-point, 10 rebound game.
Matthew Menninger was the final Lion in double-figures adding 15 points. As a team they outrebounded Bluffton 48-33 including 13 offensive rebounds that lead to 14 second chance points.
UP NEXT:
The Lions will return home for a Saturday game vs. Anderson, the Ravens sit atop the HCAC standings with a 9-1 record in league play. The Lions dropped their first matchup of the season with Anderson 69-66 on the road. Saturday's action will tip-off at 2:00 PM in the Harrington Center.
