Men's Basketball | 1/28/2020 10:00:00 AM

STORM LAKE, Iowa (January 28, 2020) - The Buena Vista University men's basketball team is prepping to play the key match-up of the week in the American Rivers Conference on Wednesday night when it hosts No. 9 Nebraska Wesleyan in what will be a battle of the top two teams currently in the A-R-C standings.

Game Details
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 | Storm Lake, Iowa | Siebens Fieldhouse
No. 9 Nebraska Wesleyan (16-2, 9-0 A-R-C) at Buena Vista (15-2, 6-2 A-R-C) | 7:30 p.m.  WATCH | LIVE STATS

Last Time Out
The Beavers rolled to their fifth straight win last Wednesday night as they closed out the first half of the league schedule with a 90-75 road win at Central College.  Junior Michael Demers went off for a career-high 27 points, including a career-best 7-of-10 from downtown.  Senior Timothy Jeffries added 20 points as four starters finished in double figures.  Noah Schmitt was the only starter not in double figures, but he did chip in with a team-leading eight rebounds and dished out five assists.  The Beavers shot 44 percent from the field in the contest and finished right at their season average with 12 made three-point shots despite going just 4-of-17 in the second half.

Series History
Tonight is the 23rd meeting all-time since playing the first one back in 1949-50.  The Prairie Wolves do hold a 16-6 all-time advantage, including four straight victories.  BVU's last win came back in 2017-18 when it won down in Lincoln, 91-75.  Three of the last five contests played inside of Siebens Fieldhouse have been decided by five points or less.

About Nebraska Wesleyan
The Prairie Wolves have won six straight games and are the only unbeaten team during conference play in the A-R-C.  They hold a 2.5 game lead over Buena Vista which is second.  Their last defeat came back on December 21, when they dropped an 84-82 contest at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.  Senior Nate Schimonitz continues to be the hot-hand on the offensive end, leading the team and the conference in scoring during A-R-C play at 27.4ppg.  He's averaging right at 2.0 three-point makes per contest which is 10th and is shooting better than 60 percent from the field overall.  He's no stranger to the free-throw line as he's attempted 50 shots against conference foes which is second-most by any player in the league.  He not only shoots well but is among the best in the league in handling the ball, leading the way in assists per game at 5.2.  His assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.9 is fourth-best in the A-R-C.  Jack Hiller is second on the team in scoring (15.9ppg) and is the top three-point shooter with 54 makes.  Clay Reimers is third in scoring (12.5ppg) is second behind Schimonitz at 54.9 percent shooting from the field.  He's also the team-leader in rebounding at 7.6rpg and in blocked shots (29).  As a team, the Prairie Wolves average a league-best 89.8ppg and are allowing just 69.0ppg which is also first.  They make an average of 9.1 shots from downtown per outing and are tops in turnover margin at 4.1.

About Buena Vista
The Beavers enter with the second-longest win streak among A-R-C teams at five and are the only other team aside from Nebraska Wesleyan to reach 15 overall wins on the year.  The team sits second during league play in scoring at 84.1ppg but has reached 90 points four times during its current win streak.  The defense is also getting stronger, holding opponents to under 80 points in seven of the last nine games.  Senior Timothy Jeffries leads the team with 18.4ppg and is shooting over 50 percent from the field. Michael Demers moves into second on the team at 14.5ppg and is second in the league in three-point makes per game (2.6) and fourth in three-point percentage (36.9%).  The Beavers have made at least 10 shots from long range in 11 of their 17 games this season and averages just over 33 attempts per contest.  Defensively, the team has four players grabbing over 5.0 rebounds per game, led by Lincoln Rock's 5.6.  Rock also leads the team and the A-R-C in steals per game at 2.4.  BVU averages nearly 10.0 steals per game and out-rebounds its opponents by an average margin of 9.2rpg which is tops in the league and among the best in Division III.

ON DECK
The Beavers will continue league play on Saturday, February 1, by traveling to Decorah, Iowa, and facing Luther College (6-12, 2-7 A-R-C) in a 4 p.m. tip-off.  The Norse play at Simpson College on Wednesday night.