ST. PAUL, Minn. (Nov. 16, 2024) -
Gunner Reed scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds,
Zane Neubaum added 24 points, two rebounds and two steals, but it wasn't quite enough for the Buena Vista men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon, as the Beavers dropped a non-conference road contest at Bethel University, 93-85.
Reed was 11-of-19 shooting on the day with Neubaum sinking 8-of-16 attempts. The duo also combined to go 12-of-13 at the charity stripe. Sophomore
Carter Sievers turned in 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists while fellow sophomore
Kyle Sternberg chipped in with eight points and six boards.
Despite scoring 10 of the game's first 11 points, it was a bit of a slow start offensively for BVU by going 10-of-30 from the field in the opening half (33.3 percent), including 0-of-9 from long range. The Royals made just nine first-half field goals, including four from distance, but were aided by making 15-of-17 free-throw attempts. The team followed up an 11-1 deficit with a 20-1 run en route to a 37-25 halftime lead.
Both teams heated up from the field a bit more over the final 20 minutes with BVU shooting 61.7 percent overall and the Royals going 19-of-33 for 57.5 percent. Bethel did most of its damage from downtown in the final half by making nine treys despite the Beavers making 4-of-7. Buena Vista also attempted 17 free-throws in the half and made 14.
Bethel extended its halftime margin to as many as 17 points at the 13:00 mark of the second half before the Beavers slowly began to chip away. Neubaum made a layup to start a run and capped it by converting a four-point play that made it 54-45 only two minutes later. BVU just couldn't claw any closer than eight down the stretch as the Royals were able to keep their lead around 10 down the stretch.
The Beavers tried to make one final push by getting as close as seven with just under a minute left to play, but Bethel (2-1) made all three of its free-throw opportunities, including an and-one with 23 seconds left that made it 93-83.
Buena Vista is 1-2 on the year and is off until Nov. 22 when it plays a non-conference game at Lakeland University (0-3) starting at 5 p.m.
