LINCOLN, NEB. (Jan. 25, 2023) - Noah Valdez and Jackson Jones each came off the bench and picked up 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Gunner Reed and Isaiah Adams both grabbed 10 rebounds, but Nebraska Wesleyan pulled away late for a 75-56 victory on Wednesday night.

The game was tied at 14-14 midway through the first half before NWU scored 14 straight points to make it a 28-14 contest with 5:22 left in the half. BVU cut the deficit to eight at 30-22, but the Prairie Wolves scored seven of the final nine points to close out the half.

NWU came out of the break and scored the first five points of the second half to extend the margin to 18. The Beavers made only four three-point buckets in the contest, but nailed three straight that pulled them back within 44-38 with 14 minutes still to play. The Prairie Wolves answered the run by extending the cushion back to double-digits at 52-41.

Despite shooting under 30 percent from the field in the second, the Beavers hung around by going 12-15 at the free-throw line in the half. Jones sunk a pair and came right back with a baseline jumper that brought the team as close as 52-49 with 8:30 to play, but the team couldn't get any closer. NWU quickly responded with a 14-2 spurt to go up 66-52 and held BVU to just 56 points for the second time this season which matches the team's season-low point total.

BVU finishes 4-of-28 from long range and 31.7 percent from the field overall. The team grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and scored 13 second chance points but were out-rebounded overall, 39-38. 

Peter Lash helped lead the Prairie Wolves (12-7, 7-3 A-R-C) with 20 points. The Prairie Wolves shot nearly 56 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes and finished the game at 50 percent overall. 

Buena Vista is now 7-11 overall (1-9 A-R-C) and travels to Luther College (4-13, 1-8 A-R-C)  on Jan. 28 for a 4 p.m. tip-off and a chance for the season sweep of the Norse.