SALEM, Va. (December 31, 2021) - Buena Vista raced out of th gate to a double-digit lead against No. 10 Roanoke on Friday but the Maroons settled in and used a big 42-11 run to close out the first half and never looked back during an 87-66 victory between the two teams to close out the Cregger Invitational.

Michael Demers scored 12 of BVU's first 16 points of the game as the Beavers built a quick 16-6 advantage over the first seven minutes.  That's win the Maroons caught fire and missed only two shot attempts over the next four minutes while going on a 16-4 surge to take their first lead at 22-20 with 9:03 left in the half.  BVU struggled to get shots to fall the remainder of the half and were held to 11 points the rest of the period as Roanoke took control with a 48-27 halftime lead.

The Maroons built their largest lead of the game at 80-52 on a three-point bucket with 8:02 left in regulation.  Roanoke finished the contest shooting 10-of-23 (43.3 percent) from long distance and was 52.4 percent from the field overall.

BVU continued to fight throughout the second half and pulled back within 18 with 5:03 to go, but was then held scoreless over the final five minutes.

Demers finished with 22 points to go along with a career-high 14 rebounds.  He was 8-of-18 shooting overall, including 3-of-7 from downtown, and is now sixth on the progam's all-time three-point list with 171.  Michael Santich added 11 points and four assists while Jacob Privia added 10 points off the bench.  Demers and Santich were each selected to the All-Tournament Team following the contest,.

The Beavers were held to just 9-of-35 shooting from beyond the arc and 36.4 percent overall.  A big factor in the game was the free-throw shooting. BVU made just 9-of-22 attempts while the Maroons, now 9-2 overall, converted 11-of-13.

Buena Vista is now 5-8 overall and will return to action on Wednesday, January 5, at Simpson College for a 7:30 p.m. American Rivers Conference match-up.