STORM LAKE, Iowa (January 2, 2020) - The Buena Vista men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaking double-overtime home game to visiting Coe College on Thursday night, 86-80.

BVU led 67-66 and was heading to the free-throw line with 12 seconds left in regulation.  Garrett Sittner made the first attempt but the second was off target and was rebounded by the Kohawks.  With time winding down, Austin Roth hit a runner in the lane at the buzzer at the other end for Coe, sending the game into overtime tied at 68-68.

In the first overtime period, the Beavers scored the first bucket before the Kohawks came right back down and buried a long trey to take a 71-70 lead.  After another basket made it a three-point lead, DJ McNeal came up big for BVU by hitting a tough shot and drawing a foul.  He stepped to the line and sank the free-throw attempt to tie things at 73-73.  Coe regained a one-point lead at 74-73 before Michael Demers got his own rebound off a missed three-point attempt and calmly buried the second to put BVU back on top, 76-74 with only 52 seconds left.

The Kohawks later made a pair of free-throws with 19 seconds left to even things at 76-76, and following a pair of timeouts after getting the ball across halfcourt, BVU had a chance to win the game but threw the ball out of bounds right in front of its on bench with three seconds left.  The Kohawks had one last desperation chance to win at the buzzer but the shot attempt from just inside halfcourt was well off the mark.

Coe pulled down a pair of offensive rebounds which led to a pair of baskets early in the second overtime and gave them an 80-78 lead with just over one minute to play.  BVU then got a good look at three-pointer as it looked to take the lead but Lincoln Rock's shot was just off the back of the rim but Brendan Gary snagged the offensive board before a turnover later in the possession gave the ball back to the Kohawks.  The Beavers were then forced to foul and the visitors would convert the free-throws down the stretch to secure the win.

McNeal finished with a team-high 18 points, including three long range buckets, while Dominic Sesma made four treys and added 14 points.  Timothy Jeffries recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards as did Rock with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  He also chipped in with five assists.

BVU came into the game ranked in the top-15 of Division III in three-point makes per game at 11.8, and the Beavers added 10 more in this contest but shot only 29 percent from long distance overall.  Coe did a good deal of work at the free-throw line, making 20-of-23 attempts for the game.

The Beavers came out of the gate strong, building an early 18-7 lead, but could never put the Kohawks away.  After reaching the early double-digit lead, it remained in single digits the rest of the way.  Coe's largest lead was the game's final margin, as it improves to 7-5 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

BVU dropped to 10-2 on the year and had its eight-game overall home win streak snapped with the loss.  The Beavers are now 1-2 in league play and will look to even that mark on Saturday afternoon when they host Luther College (4-7, 0-2 A-R-C) at 4 p.m.