ST. LOUIS, Mo. (November 12, 2021) - The Buena Vista men's basketball team couldn't quote overcome a tough long distance shooting night on Friday during its season-opening 70-67 loss to Westminster in the opening game of the SLIAC/A-R-C Challenge, hosted by Fontbonne University.

The Beavers struggled to get many shots to fall from beyond the arc, finishing the game just 5-of-26 from downtown (19.2%).  The team had the ball trailing by three with under 10 seconds left but the final heave with 0.9 seconds remaining was off target.

Senior Jake Thompson led all scorers with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocked shots.  He was 8-of-16 shooting from the field but was just 2-of-7 from the free-throw line.  Fellow seniors Michael Demers (13pts) and Garrett Sittner (12pts) also scored in double figures and combined to go 8-of-8 at the charity stripe.  Trey Valentine and Jacob Gaudreau each made two three-point buckets and tallied six points apiece off the bench.

BVU held the lead for just over a minute in the first half after a three-point make from Gaudreau made it 12-11 with 11:50 remianing.  The Bluejays rolled off six straight points to put them back in front as they extended the margin to 36-29 at the half.

The Beavers clawed their way back at the start of the second half and pulled even at 52-52 before Gaudrau's second trey gave them a 55-52 lead midway through.  The game was back-and-forth down the stretch with neither team able to build more than a four-point advantage.  Demers kept it a two-point game with 15 seconds left after a made layup, and after the Bluejays missed the second of two free-throw attempts, the Beavers had one final chance to try and force overtime but the ball was knocked out of bounce near midcourt with 0.9 seconds left.  BVU was able to inbound the ball near the three-point line but was forced to take an off-balance shot as the buzzer sounded.

Tre Kempker and Emil Spriggs each scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help lead Westminster (1-2) which shot 44 percent from the field and was 14-of-19 at the free-throw line.

Buena Vista looks to bounce back on Saturday afternoon when it faces Fontbonne University (1-0).  The Griffins held on for a 68-61 victory over Simpson (0-1) in the late game on Friday.