Lancer rally falls short in loss to Bluffton

Van Wert independent sports

BLUFFTON — The Lincolnview Lancers got off to a slow start, and that was, unfortunately, the key to a 61-57 loss to the Bluffton Pirates Friday night.

The Pirates outscored Lincolnview 14-5 in the first quarter, and the Lancers spent the remainder of the game trying to catch up. The score was 28-12 at the half in favor of the Pirates, but Lincolnview began a furious rally in the third quarter that saw the Lancers trail by 12, 39-27, at the three-quarter mark, but then outscore Bluffton 30-22 in the final stanza to come within four at the buzzer.

Lincolnview had three players in double figures, led by Chandler Adams’ 19 points. Hayden Ludwig scored 15 points in the game, while Justis Dowdy added 14 points for the Lancers, including three treys. Bluffton’s Levi Kistler led both teams in scoring with 21 points, while Mitchell Ault added 11 points and Bret Rumer and Austin Bricker each had 8 points for the Pirates.