Buena Vista overcame a double-digit deficit early in the second half to take a 52-51 lead, but the Beavers were unable to pull away from visiting Loras, and the Duhawks prevailed in a tight game down the stretch with an 82-80 victory.

There were six ties and seven lead changes in the contest as neither team was able to mount much of a cushion over the final 20 minutes.  Brady Dicks hit a three in the corner that put BVU in front by four at 71-67 with 8:23 left.  The Duhawks scored seven straight to take a 74-71 only to see the Beavers respond with four straight free-throws from Thomas Wisecup to regain a narrow 75-74 lead with 4:00 to go. 

Loras then made consecutive three-point buckets to build an 80-75 cushion with just under 2:00 remaining in regulation.  Four straight points for the Beavers cuts the deficit down to a single point, and they looked to take a lead late by forcing a turnover, but Wisecup would be called for an offensive foul as he drove to the basket with under 30 seconds left.

The Duhawks made just 1-of-2 at the free-throw line which gave BVU a chance to tie but Wisecup's runner in the lane wouldn't fall.  Loras again made just 1-of-2 at the line, and then elected to foul the Beavers after they brought the ball back across the mid-court line.  Wisecup made the first free-throw attempt, and after the second came up short, the ball was tipped back out, giving BVU a pair of shots to tie the game, but neither shot would fall and the Duhawks snapped BVU's seven-game win streak.

Connor Winkelman made 3-of-5 from downtown and turned in a team-high 15 points to go along with seven rebounds.  Billy Sparks made 4-of-7 from behind the arc to follow with 14 points while Wisecup finished with 10 points and six assists.  David Jeffries battled foul trouble for a good part of the game and was held to only six points despite tying for the team lead with seven rebounds.

The Beavers shot 48 percent from the field overall, including another strong performance from downtown where they made 12-of-24.

Matt Dacy-Seijo and Will McClaughry each scored 15 points to help lead Loras (12-4, 5-2 IIAC) which edged BVU inside of Siebens Fieldhouse for the second straight season.

Buena Vista is now 12-3 overall (5-1 IIAC) and will travel to #21 Wartburg College (11-4, 4-2 IIAC) for a big Iowa Conference showdown in Waverly on Monday night (Jan. 15) at 8:00pm.  The Knights were dealt a tough 86-81 road loss at Simpson on Saturday.  BVU remains alone in first-place of the league standings by one game over the Knights, Duhawks, Storm and Nebraska Wesleyan.