Written by Jordyn Daggs-Olson, BVU Sports Info Student Intern

STORM LAKE, Iowa (February 10, 2021) -  The Buena VIsta men's basketball team scored the game's first 14 points, led by 16 at the break and then scored the game's final bucket in the final 10 seconds to escape Coe College, 72-71, on Wednesday night.

BVU controlled the game early on, quickly going up 14-0 and holding Coe scoreless for nearly seven minutes to begin the game. Midway through the first half, the Beavers still led by 14 with a score of 24-10. The team hit a little cold spell on the offensive end with getting shots to fall, as the Kohawks cut the lead to 11 in the last two minutes. Just before halftime, though, the Beavers were able to put more space between them and Coe, ending the half up 39-23.  

Coe College came out fast in the second half, outscoring BVU 12-6 in the first five minutes. A three-pointer by senior Garrett Sittner, along with a couple points from the charity stripe by Jake Thompson, kept the Beavers with a double-digit lead. The Kohawks began closing the cap with ten minutes remaining as the cushion was trimmed to 55-49.  

It was the last three minutes when Coe began really building steam, as their shots were falling behind the arc, cutting the Beavers lead down to four, 67-63. With less than one minute left, BVU held onto a 70-69 lead until freshman Michael Santich fouled out, leading to a pair of free-throws by Coe's Cael Schmitt that gave the Kohawks their first lead of the game, 71-70, with 19 seconds left. Then after a timeout by each team with seven seconds left, senior Michael Demers came through for the Beavers with a layup to put them ahead 72-71. Coe's last ditch three-point attempt fell just off the mark and BVU improved to 6-1 on the season and 5-1 in conference play.  

Demers led the team with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Thompson and freshman Zane Neubaum both put up 14 points, Thompson putting up three out of the team's seven treys of the game. As a team, BVU went 44.3 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from long range and 78.6 percent from the free throw line. Three Kohawks scored in double digits with Cael Schmitt leading them with 15 points. Coe College falls to 2-3 overall and in conference play.  

BVU's next scheduled game is Saturday, February 13, at Central College in Pella. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM.