First Posted: 1/31/2015
BLUFFTON — Bluffton University was coming off of a three-game losing streak but coach Guy Neal had a good feeling about his club and their readiness to meet visiting Hanover College.
The Beavers proved their veteran coach right as they grabbed a thrilling triple overtime win over the Panthers by a final score of 103-102 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action.
“Even though we had a tough week and a half I kept telling them that a college basketball season is a grind and to just keep banging away.” Neal said. “We were down after the Defiance loss but came out for practice Thursday and set the tone for today. We hung in there and were very resilient.”
Junior center Thayne Recker set the tone early as he piled up 16 first half point and the Beavers (9-10, 5-7 HCAC) grabbed a 39-26 lead at the break. But Recker was just getting warmed up for what was to come.
The Panthers (9-10, 6-6 HCAC) opened the second half with a 17-5 run to get back into the game and the two teams went back and forth like two heavyweight boxers.
But neither team could land a knock-out blow and the game went to over-time after the two were tied at 70 apiece at the end of regulation.
Bluffton grabbed a five point lead to start the overtime period before Hanover fought back and the two ended the overtime tied at 79.
The second overtime saw Hanover jump out quickly but once again the Beavers responded and sent the game to a third overtime period tied at 88.
This time Bluffton was able to get a couple of key stops and hung on for the win when the Panthers hit a 3-pointer at the gun to make the final 103-102.
Recker was a man to be reckoned with the entire contest as he ended with a career and school single game record of 53 points. Recker hit 14-of-24 from the field and 25-of-28 from the charity stripe in his record setting performance.
“He (Recker) has some God given ability and he also works very, very hard.” Neal said. “When you combine talent and work ethic he is what you get.”
Besides the 53 point outburst by Recker the Beavers got 22 points from Austin Rohde and 10 from Joshua Woodrich. LCC product Bill Taflinger added eight points to the Bluffton total.
