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

STORM LAKE, Iowa (March 6, 2021) – The BVU men’s basketball team closes out the regular season with a huge win over Central College on Saturday, March 6. The Beavers defeated the Dutch 97-67 in Pella. 

Both teams started out slow, with the score after five minutes being only 9-8 in Central’s favor. The game remained close through the first half, the Beavers only able to get out to a nine-point lead just past the halfway point, but the Dutch quickly brought it back to a six-point difference. With less than two minutes left in the half, a jumper by Michael Demers finally put the Beavers up by double digits (11). BVU went on a 7-2 run and went to the locker room ahead 44-30. 

After the break, the Dutch’s Kole Tupa came out with a made three-pointer in the first thirty seconds of the half. However, following a 1-2 trip to the charity stripe, BVU outscored Central 14-4 in a span of three minutes. During that time, it was raining threes for the Beavers as three different players connected from behind the arc. Once Buena Vista reached a 25-point lead, there was no turning back. Multiple players came off the bench for the last eight minutes to finish the game off. The 97-67 victory pushed BVU to 6-2 in the A-R-C and 7-2 overall. 

Demers led the team with 22 points, followed by freshman Zane Neubaum with 18 points and putting up three of the team’s ten made treys in the game. As a team, BVU went 50.7 percent from the field, 30.6 percent from long range and 80 percent from the free throw line. Three Dutch scored in double digits with Cael Schmitt leading them with 15 points. Central College falls to 2-3 overall and in conference play.  

Buena Vista finished second in the A-R-C for the regular season. As the second seed, they host Wartburg on Tuesday, March 9 in Siebens Fieldhouse. Tip-off time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.