Men's Basketball | 3/13/2021 12:05:00 PM
Written by Jordyn Daggs-Olson, BVU Sports Info Intern
STORM LAKE, Iowa (March 13, 2021) – The Buena Vista men's basketball team will face top-seeded and seventh ranked University of Dubuque in the A-R-C tournament championship this afternoon and going after its eighth tournament title all-time.
THE MATCH-UP
No. 1 Dubuque (13-0, 7-0 A-R-C) vs. No. 2 Buena Vista (9-2, 6-2 A-R-C)
A-R-C Tournament Championship | Live Video?|?Live Stats
Saturday, March 13, 2021 |?Dubuque, Iowa | Stoltz Sports Center
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game marks the 149th time meeting between the two teams, with the Spartans holding onto a slim 77-70 series lead that began back in 1936-37...Earlier this month, Dubuque traveled to Storm Lake for their regular season matchup. The first half was back-and-forth with neither team able to tally up more than a five-point lead. Coming out of the break, the Spartans warmed up as the Beavers went cold. A seven-minute scoring drought for BVU was too much to overcome as Dubuque won 76-67.
Last 5 Match-Ups
03/01/21? Dubuque 76, Buena Vista 67 | Storm Lake, Iowa
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
LAST TIME OUT
In the A-R-C Semifinal game, Buena Vista defeated Central 81-76 in Siebens Fieldhouse. Both teams struggled behind the arc in the contest as the game remained close through the first half (41-32). After the break, the Beavers built up their lead up to 14 points early. Although down 19 points, the Dutch clawed their way back over time as BVU went through a seven-minute scoring drought. By the last four minutes, Central cut the deficit to five (71-66). Some key free throws in the last minute gave BVU the victory and punched their ticket to the A-R-C Championship game. Freshman Zane Neubaum led the team with game-high 27 points, followed by senior Michael Demers with 23. As a team, BVU shot 49.2 percent from the field, just 26.1 percent from long range and 60 percent at the free throw line. Central's Adam Flinn put up 25 points as the team's leading scorer.
ABOUT DUBUQUE
Despite winning multiple regular season conference games by wide margins, the Spartans' appearances in the A-R-C tournament have come down to the wire. In their semifinal game against Coe, Dubuque built a 13-point lead (21-8) halfway through the first half. The Kohawks were able to cut that lead in half, taking the score to 31-25 at the break. In the second half, the Spartans' lead ranged from 4 to 14 points. With less than two minutes left in the game, Coe had come back to within six (69-63). A couple of missed shots and a key turnover sealed the Kohawks fate, with Dubuque winning 73-63. On the season, Dubuque is averaging 86.5 points per game. Two of their players rank in the top 6 in the conference for scoring: Peter Ragen (18.6ppg) and Patrick Mayfield (16.8ppg). The team averages 42.4 percent from the field, 44.1 percent from behind the arc and 75.2 percent at the charity stripe. Dubuque also leads the A-R-C in blocked shots with 49 in 13 games (an average of 3.77 per game).
BEAVER NOTES
-- Buena Vista is facing Dubuque for just the sixth time during the conference tournament and for the first time in a championship game,
-- BVU is 5-0 on the road this season
-- The team is making its 10th championship game appearance all-time which is the most in conference history.
-- Team is second?in the A-R-C in made three-pointers per game, averaging?10.4 per game.?
--Michael Demers is tied for second in the league in scoring (19.1ppg) and seventh in three-point makes per game (2.0).
-- Demers has made 143 career three-point buckets which puts him10th all-time in school history
-- Santich is tied as the league leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5); Garrett Sittner is third (2.3)
-- Jake Thompson is tied for third in the A-R-C in assists per game (3.6).Sittner is sixth (3.4)
-- BVU is ranked seventh nationally in assists per game this season (19.9)
-- Team ranks second in the A-R-C in turnover margin (+2.90)?
UP NEXT
Saturday's game concludes the 2021 men's basketball season for the Beavers.
