Written by Dominic Roderick
BVU Athletics Communications Intern

Storm Lake, Iowa, (Feb. 4, 2023) – The Buena Vista men's basketball team, on Alumni Day, win a thriller inside the Siebens Fieldhouse over Coe College with a final score of 79-77.  

The Beavers started the game off hot as they were firing on all cylinders. Junior Noah Valdez wasted no time and scored a quick seven points for the Beavers. In the first six minutes of the game, the Beavers jumped out to a 12-point lead. The Kohawks kept themselves in the game with the help of junior Cael Schmitt and junior TJ Schnurr, who both had big days offensively. Going into halftime, the Beavers held 46-34 lead.  

As the second half went on, Schmitt and Schnurr kept their strong offensive days going, as they had 21 and 25 points, respectively, on the day. This led to the Kohawks closing the gap on the Beavers to four points with around 12:50 left in the game. The Beavers had many contributors on the day. Four players finished in double figures with juniors Zane Neubaum and Valdez leading the offensive attack with 20 and 18 points, respectively.  

Schnurr hit a huge three for the Kohawks at the minute-and-a-half mark which tied the game at 77 apiece. Valdez had a clutch steal with around 30 seconds left in the game. Then, out of a timeout, the Beavers got the ball to Neubaum who dribbled his way to the rack for the acrobatic layup to put the Beavers up 79-77. This proved to be the winning bucket for the Beavers as Coe had its final shot attempt blocked at the buzzer.   

Up Next: The Beavers (8-13, 2-11 A-R-C) will hit the road for two games next week. On Wednesday Feb. 8, the team will travel to Simpson and on Saturday, Feb. 11th, the team will travel to Wartburg College.