The Blackburn Beavers defeated the Tigers of Iowa Wesleyan at home 97-86 in a game that was extremely tense in the second half. The Beavers' athleticism was on full display from the get go by Bryson Kirby (4) delivering a dime to from outside the arch to Randy Love (23) while Love was in mid-air. Love made the high flying layup with ease to put the Beavers on top 2-0. That would be the baseline for a first half in which the Beavers shot 55.9% from the field and made 8 threes on their way to building and 18 point lead and finished the half with the score at 50-32 in favor of Blackburn. However, the second half was anything but smooth sailing. Although Beavers actually shot a higher percentage in the second half (70.6%) than the first, the Tigers came roaring back behind the unbelievable shooting of Alex Dentlinger (15). Dentlinger made 9 three pointers in the second half alone and would finish the game leading all scorers with 36 points on 12 of 17 shooting (11 of 15 from deep). The Beavers provided a counter to Dentlinger in the form of David Lopez (31). Lopez caught fire in the second period and made all the attempts he took (4-4 and 3 of 3 from three) while adding four steals and 2 assists off the bench for Blackburn. Christian Wagner (14) aided Lopez in retaking momentum for the Beavers by getting three steals and being automatic at the line down the stretch with 8 free throws made on his 10 attempts.
Blackburn was led in scoring by both Karson Hayes (2) and Chanz Aldridge (5) with 19 points each. The Beavers were led in rebounding by Randy Love who had 7 boards and who quietly played excellent defense for the Beavers alongside Nigel Ferrell (13).
The Beavers will back on the floor in a high stakes conference matchup against the Westminster Blue Jays on Wednesday, January 8th, at 7:30 PM CTE at Westminster.