LINCOLN, Neb. (December 8, 2021) - Sophomore Zane Neubaum scored a game-high 27 points to lead four starters in double figures, as the Buena Vista men's basketball team used a 50-point second half effort to overcome a halftime deficit and hold off Nebraska Wesleyan on the road, 76-72.

Neubaum finished the game shooting 10-of-17 overall and 6-of-10 at the free-throw line.  Fellow sophomore Michael Santich turned in a season-high 14 points and seven rebounds while freshman Simon Daniel connected 3-of-5 shots from long range to score 13 points.  Senior Michael Demers registered his first double-double of the year, scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.  He also dished out five assists and picked up two steals.  Senior Jake Thompson was the only starter not to score in double figures but did score nine points and dished out nine assists.

Buena Vista was 0-of-11 from long range in the first half before heating up in the second half to make 6-of-14 attempts and shooting 58.6 percent overall during the final 20 minutes.  The Beavers finished the game shooting 45.2 percent from the field while both teams went 14-of-25 at the free-throw line.

Nebraska Wesleyan led the entire first half and built a 35-26 lead at the break.  The Beavers began the second half strong, using a 14-4 spurt over the first five minutes to take its first lead at 40-39.  Daniel then continued the surge with a three-pointer and a layup to extend the margin to 45-39.  The Prairie Wolves responded with a run of their own and went back on top 52-48 with just under 10 minutes remaining.  Santich and Daniel then each nailed a pair of three-point buckets as the Beavers surged to a 61-52 at the 5:45 mark.

NWU would close the gap to five, but the Beavers were able to get some key buckets late and not allow the Prairie Wolves to get any closer until they hit back-to-back three-point buckets to make it a 75-72 game with three seconds left.  Demers then made 1-of-2 attempts at the charity stripe to secure the team's first conference win of the season and snap a six-game overall losing skid.

Josh Rogers and Tyler Converse each scored 15 points to pace NWU which dropped its first A-R-C game of the year and is now 5-3 overall (2-1 A-R-C).  After shooting over 51 percent in the first half, the Beavers held the Prairie Wolves to 32.3 percent in the second half.

Buena Vista now travels to Luther College (1-7, 0-3 A-R-C) on December 11 for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off.