STORM LAKE - In what was a defensive battle from start to finish, it was the University of Dubuque using a late offensive surge to hold on and hand the Beavers their second straight narrow loss on Saturday afternoon, 55-52, inside of the Stoltz Sports Center.

BVU went up by seven at 52-45 with five minutes to go but then went cold on the offensive end and did not score again.  Despite the drought, the team still held a one-point lead with under two minutes to go before a pair of free-throws by Dubuque with 1:42 left gave the Spartans their first lead since the opening five minutes of the period.

The Beavers had a pair of tough turnovers down inside the final 30 seconds as they tried to regain the lead.  Dubuque made two more free-throws in the closing seconds and then forced the second of those BVU turnovers with just three seconds left.

Buena Vista shot 41 percent from the field and held Dubuque to 35 percent and also made four more three-point buckets than the Spartans.

The win pushes Dubuque to 11-5 on the year and 4-3 inside of conference play while the loss drops BVU to 8-8 overall (2-5 American Rivers).  BVU has now lost its last two games by a combined seven points.  

The Beavers look to snap that losing skid when they host Wartburg College on January 16 at 8:00 p.m. inside of Siebens Fieldhouse.  It will also be Community Night at the game so all fans get free admission and can have a free bag of popcorn.