FOND DU LAC, Wis. (Nov. 23, 2024) - Zane Neubaum scored a season-high 32 points to lead four Beavers in double figures on Saturday afternoon at Marian University, but it was the Sabres hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime before holding off BVU in double overtime, 102-98.

Neubaum, who also added four assists and five steals, made a pair of free-throws with 3:20 remaining which gave the Beavers a 76-65 lead before the Sabres began to chip away at that margin. Back-to-back three-point buckets capped a quick 8-0 surge that brought them within 76-73 with 1:51 still to play. The Beavers looked to put the game away at the free-throw game late in regulation but made just 1-of-2 attempts on consecutive trips to the free-throw line that left it at a 78-73 advantage with 33 seconds to go. 

Following a made three-pointer by Marian that made it 78-76 with 26 seconds left, Neubaum, who finished 15-of-19 in the game at the charity stripe, made two more from the line to extend the margin back to four at 80-76 with 21 seconds remaining. Marian came right back down the court and got a layup with 14 seconds left and then proceeded to foul Neubaum on the ensuing inbound pass. Neubaum would miss the front end of the two-shot opportunity before making good on the second to make it a three-point lead with 11 seconds to play. Both teams then traded a pair of made free-throws, including two from freshman Adam Bryte with six seconds to go that gave the Beavers an 86-83 lead before the Sabres dribbled down the court and made a three pointer from the left wing as time expired to force OT.

Marian built a five-point lead with just over two minutes to go in the first overtime before BVU clawed back and tied it at 89-89 with 25 seconds left. After the Sabres made a pair of free-throws to take a 91-89 lead with 12 seconds left, BVU came down the court and caught a fast break two-handed dunk from Neubaum with under five seconds to go which forced the second OT.

Late in the second overtime, it was a three-point game at 101-98 with Marian missing the second of two free-throw attempts, but the Sabres came up with the offensive rebound and would tack on another free-throw that secured the win and keep their perfect season in tact at 6-0.

Marian jumped out to a 10-3 lead to begin the game and maintained the lead throughout most of the period, including the largest lead at 27-17. BVU closed the half strong and got back within a point at the 1:00 mark before trailing 36-33 at the half. The Sabres held a 44-38 lead early in the second half before the Beavers tied it at 44-44 with five minutes gone by. BVU then went on a 26-11 run over the next eight minutes to take a 70-55 lead with just over seven minutes to play. From there, Marian slowly chipped away and got it back to single digits with under four minutes to play before rallying late to force extra time.

BVU shot 49 percent from the field overall, including 11-of-26 from long range. The Beavers struggled a bit down the stretch at the free-throw line and went 33-of-44 overall.

Sophomore Carter Sievers followed Neubaum with 19 points as the duo combined to go 28-of-34 at the line. Senior Gunner Reed turned in 18 points and seven rebounds while fellow sophomore Kyle Sternberg chipped in with 16 points, including a career-high four three-pointers, and grabbed 13 rebounds.

The Sabres had seven players score in double figures led by 19 points from Andrew Ayeni.

Buena Vista is now 2-3 overall and will be off until opening American Rivers Conference play on Dec. 4 at Central College. Tip-off in Pella, Iowa, is set for 7:30 p.m.