STORM LAKE, Iowa (February 5, 2020) - The Buena Vista men's basketball team overcame an early 20-point first half deficit to lead by as many as six early in the second, but Loras used a key 16-0 run midway through and hung on for a 90-83 victory on Wednesday night inside of Siebens Fieldhouse.

BVU had no answer for the Duhawks in the first five minutes of the contest as the Duhawk made 10 of their first 16 shot attempts to take a 27-7 lead midway through the first half.  BVU began just 3-of-16 from the field but heated up late in the period by knocking down 10-of-13 attempts, including a long distance shot from Dominic Sema which got the team back within 35-32 with one minute left.  The Beavers had a chance to tie the game going into the break but Michael Demers' three-point shot was just off target.

Loras led 43-40 early in the second half before senior Timothy Jeffries capped a 14-5 run for the Beavers with a basket and free-throw to give BVU its largest lead of the night at 54-48 with 11:51 left.

Back-to-back three-point buckets by the Duhawks helped spark the pivotal 16-0 run over the next  three minutes that gave them a 10-point lead at 64-54.  BVU clawed its way back as close as five at 83-78 after a three-pointer from Jeffries with only 1:21 left in regulation.  With nine seconds on the shot clock, Loras then got a big layup off an inbounds pass to go back up seven and just 54 seconds left, and the Beavers could get no closer.

Demers finished with four makes from long distance en route to a team-high 19 points.  Jeffries followed with 16 points as Sesma added 14 and Lincoln Rock 13.  Sesma dished out a career-high seven assists and grabbed five rebounds.  Rock was right behind with six assists while Brendan Gary came off the bench to score 13 points and grab a team-high nine rebounds.

The Beavers made 11-of-34 from downtown and shot 45.6 percent from the field overall while Loras was 10-of-26 from distance and 56.4 percent from the field overall.  They made 7-of-13 from long range in the second half alone and was also aided by going 16-of-20 at the charity stripe after attempting only four in the first half.

Buena Vista has dropped three straight games to fall to 15-5 overall (6-5 A-R-C) while Loras has now won four straight and sits at 15-6 (8-4 A-R-C).  The Beavers will look to snap the skid and get back on track when they entertain the University of Dubuque on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. as part of Alumni Day.