By JOSH BURRIS
MARION – The Bluffton Tigers got off to slow starts in both the first and second half, which contributed to a 53-43 loss at Eastbrook on Wednesday night.
The Panthers (9-7) combined to outscore the Tigers (3-15) 25-13 in the first and third quarters. The Tigers shot just 3-of-14 from the field in those two periods and committed nine turnovers to the Panthers’ four.
Bluffton coach Karl Grau said it came down to execution and taking care of the basketball.
“Those two things really hurt us,” Grau said. “Most of their points came from runouts in the first half. Probably half of their points were on runouts from turnovers. We didn’t handle the ball very well. At the beginning of the third quarter, it was the same thing a little bit. We didn’t make any shots. It took us four minutes to score. We’ve got to have guys that can step up and make plays, and we will continue to work on that.”
Bluffton took a 4-2 lead in the first quarter thanks to buckets from Max Stoppenhagen and Tucker Jenkins. Then the Panthers scored the next 10 before a three by Andrew Ball ended the run and made the score 12-7 at the end of the quarter.
Turnovers leading to fastbreak points continued to be an issue for the Tigers in the second quarter, but the biggest lead they allowed Eastbrook to take in the quarter was 8 points on a few occassions.
A three from Max Stoppenhagen and a put-back bucket from Carter McConnell brought the Tigers within 21-18 with 1:40 to go. The Panthers answered back with a three from Jaxson VanBelkum and a fastbreak layup from Tyler Harness to push the lead back to 8. Harrison Schreiber knocked down a jumper for Bluffton in the final minute, which made the score 26-20 at halftime.
The Tigers struggled to get much going in the third quarter. Landyn Castillo made one of two free throws and Isaac Rans knocked down a jumper for Eastbrook to make the score 29-20 with 4:38 left in the quarter.
Bluffton finally got on the board with 3:33 left when Schreiber made two free throws, and Stoppenhagen did the same to cut Eastbrook’s lead to 29-24.
The Tigers only managed one more bucket from Schreiber in the quarter as the Panthers ended it with a 10-2 run to lead 39-26.
A three by Stoppenhagen, two bukets by Markis Crosbie, and a put-back layup by Jenkins helped the Tigers cut the deficit to 43-35 with 4:45 remaining in the game. That was as close as the Tigers would get the rest of the night though.
When it was all said and done, the Tigers shot 15-of-38 from the field and 9-of-13 from the free-throw line. The Panthers hit 21-of-40 attempts from the field and 7-of-11 from the stripe.
Harness led all scorers with 16 points off the bench. VanBelkum followed him on Eastbrook with 11. Stoppenhagen and Schreiber each scored 13 to lead the Tigers.
The loss makes it seven straight for the Bluffton, which returns to action on Friday against Northfield at The Tiger Den.
Grau said it has not been from a lack of effort, but a lack of execution.
“We played hard. We play hard every game,” he said. “We have guys that play hard, but there are certain times where we need to play harder and be able to step it up and execute and make a great basketball play. That’s the part we are struggling with, and we just need to continue to work.”
The Tigers beat the Pathers 52-49 in the JV matchup. Eli Garrett, Andrew Hunt, and Lukas Gehrett scored 12 points each to lead Bluffton’s offense.
The Tigers also took the freshman game 38-30. Kade Abbett led Bluffton with 11 points, and Nolan Lambert followed with 10.
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EASTBROOK 53, BLUFFTON 43
At Eastbrook High School
BLUFFTON (3-15): Max Stoppenhagen 3-12 6-7 13, Eli Garrett 0-0 0-0 0, Harrison Schreiber 5-7 2-2 13, Sam Baumgartner 1-3 0-0 2, Fletcher Wenger 0-1 0-0 0, Markis Crosbie 2-2 0-0 4, Tucker Jenkins 2-6 0-0 4, Carter McConnell 1-3 1-2 3, Andrew Ball 1-4 0-0 3. TOTALS: 15-38 9-13 43.
EASTBROOK (9-7): Jaxson VanBelkum 4-12 1-1 11, Schuylar Ashley 0-1 0-0 0, Tyler Harness 7-9 0-0 16, Landyn Castillo 0-1 2-4 2, Nathan Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Braxton Bowser 4-6 1-3 9, Eli Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Isaiah Dalton 0-0 0-0 0, Brody Brodkorb 2-4 1-1 5, Weston James 0-0 0-0 0, Jett Engle 2-4 0-0 4, Isaac Rans 2-3 2-2 6. TOTALS: 21-40 7-11 53.
Bluffton 7 13 6 17 –– 43
Eastbrook 12 14 13 14 –– 53
Three-point Goals: Bluffton 4-17 (Stoppenhagen 2-7, Schreiber 1-2, Ball 1-4, Wenger 0-1, Jenkins 0-1, Baumgartner 0-2), Eastbrook 4-8 (Harness 2-2, VanBelkum 2-4, Castillo 0-1, Engle 0-1). Rebounds: Bluffton 25 (McConnell 8, Jenkins 7, Stoppenhagen 2, Schreiber 2, Baumgartner 2, Garrett 1, Crosbie 1), Eastbrook 23 (Rans 9, VanBelkum 4, Bowser 4, Castillo 2, Harness 1, Brodkorb 1, Engle 1). Turnovers: Bluffton 16, Eastbrook 12. Fouls: Bluffton 9, Eastbrook 11. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: Bluffton 52, Eastbrook 49
Freshman: Bluffton 38, Eastbrook 30
