Men's Basketball | 3/1/2021 9:31:00 AM

STORM LAKE, Iowa (March 1, 2021) - After nearly three weeks has passed since it last took the floor, the Buena Vista men's basketball team will return to action tonight when the Beavers play host to No. 8 Dubuque on Senior Night inside of Siebens Fieldhouse.

THE MATCH-UP
No. 8 Dubuque (10-0, 6-0 A-R-C) vs. (RV) Buena Vista (6-1, 5-1 A-R-C)
Monday, March 1, 2021  |  6:00 p.m.  |  Live Video  |  Live Stats
Storm Lake, Iowa  |  Siebens Fieldhouse
 

SERIES HISTORY 
The two teams will square off for the 148th time with the Spartans holding onto a slim 77-70 series lead which began back in 1936-37...BVU has won the last three overall while the two team's have split the last 10...both BVU victories last season were by double-digits...the Beavers have won three of the last four match-ups played inside Siebens Fieldhouse.

Last 5 Match-Ups 
02/02/20  Buena Vista 81, Dubuque 70  |  Storm Lake, Iowa
01/11/20  Buena Vista 93, Dubuque 77  |  Dubuque, Iowa
02/09/19  Buena Vista 83, Dubuque 61  |  Storm Lake, Iowa
01/12/19  Dubuque 55, Buena Vista 52  |  Dubuque, Iowa
02/07/18  Dubuque 92, Buena Vista 84  |  Storm Lake, Iowa

LAST TIME OUT 
Buena Vista last played back on February 10 when they held on to win a 72-71 thriller on the road at Coe College.  Michael Demers scored the game-winning bucket in the closing seconds after Coe had overcomoe a double-digit deficit to take it's first lead of the game just seconds before.  BVU led 14-0 out of the gate and 39-23 at the half.  The Kohawks responded with 48-second half points to take their first lead of the game at 71-70 with 19 seconds remaining in regulation before Demers' layup put the Beavers back in front with under seven seconds to go.  Demers finished the game with 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting and also grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.  Zane Neubaum and Jake Thompson each scored 14 and combined to go 5-of-11 from long range.  As a team, BVU shot 44 percent overall from the field and also made 11-of-14 attempts from the free-throw line.

SCOUTING DUBUQUE

The Spartans are the only team in the American Rivers Conference without a loss on their resume this season.  The team comes in leading the league in scoring overall at 91.1ppg while holding opponents to just 71.6ppg.  The 19.5ppg scoring margin is more than double the next highest in the conference.  Patrick Mayfield ranks second in the A-R-C in scoring at 18.7ppg while Peter Ragen is seventh in scoring at 16.9ppg and fifth in rebounding (6.5rpg).  Dubuque has won nine of 10 games this season by double-digits with the closest margin of victory being a 99-91 home victory over cross-town rival Loras back on Feb. 3.  As a team, Dubuque is shooting 50 percent from the field overall and 46.3 percent from downtown.  Ragen is eighth in the league with just over 2.0 treys per contest.  Defensively, the Spartans also lead the way with over 4.0 blocks per game and 7.3 steals.

ABOUT THE BEAVERS 
The team is averaging just shy of 80.0ppg and is fourth in the league in scoring while sitting third in scoring defense at 72.3.  Overall, the Beavers come in shooting over 46 percent from the field and lead the A-R-C with an average of 10.9 made three-point buckets per contest.  Defensively, the team is holding opponents to a league-low 30.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.  Demers leads the team and is sixth in the league in scoring this season at 17.7ppg.  He's also ninth in the A-R-C in rebounding (6.4pg), seventh in field goal percentage (.475) and ninth in three-point buckets per game (2.0).  Garrett Sittner leads the team and is third in the conference in assists per game (3.9) with Michael Santich right behind at 3.4.  Santich (3.4) and Sittner (3.0) are also first and second, respectively, among the league leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio.  BVU is winners of four straight games overall this season since a 16-point home loss to Loras back on Feb. 1

BEAVER NOTES 
– Team leads A-R-C in made three-pointers, averaging nearly 12 per game (10.9) 
– Michael Demers is sixth in the league in scoring (17.7ppg)
-- Garret Sittner is fifth in the A-R-C in three-point makes per game (2.3)
– Zane Neubaum is fifth in A-R-C for field goal percentage (.542)
-- Demers has made 136 career three-point buckets which is tied for 11th all-time in school history
-- Santich is the league leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.4).
-- This will be the team's first home game since defeating Nebraska Wesleyan (76-64) back on Feb. 3

UP NEXT 
The Beavers are scheduled to play a non-conference road game at Simpson College on Wednesday night (Mar. 3) starting at 5:30 p.m.  The team will then close out the regular season on Saturday (Mar. 6) at Central College (2:00 p.m.).