IRVING, Texas (Dec. 19, 2024) - The Buena Vista University men's basketball team used a 60 percent shooting performance in the second half and overcame a four-point halftime deficit as the Beavers went on to notch a 69-57 non-conference road win at the University of Dallas on Thursday evening.

Trailing 34-30 at the half, BVU came out over the final 20 minutes to shoot 17-of-28 from the field following its 35 percent showing in the first half. The University of Dallas held a 47-45 advantage midway through before fifth-year Zane Neubaum scored five straight and freshman Adam Bryte later followed with a three-point bucket that helped spark a 15-2 run that put the Beavers in front 60-49 with under eight minutes to go.

The Crusaders got a long range bucket of their own to pull back within eight at 60-52, but a layup from sophomore Carter Sievers gave BVU the double-digit lead back, and the Beavers maintained that advantage over the final five minutes to close out their third straight win.

Neubaum led the way for the Beavers with 24 points for his 40th career 20-point outing. He also passed Jason Evers for third place on the program's all-time list and is now just four points shy of becoming only the third player in program history to reach 1,700. Fifth-year senior Gunner Reed did most of his damage in the second half and finished with 19 points and six rebounds while senior Simon Daniel chipped in with 15 points. Neubaum, Daniel and sophomore Kyle Sternberg each grabbed five boards with Daniel also adding three steals.

Defensively, the Beavers held the Crusaders (5-4) to only 37 percent shooting in the second half after they had gone 50 percent over the first 20 minutes. BVU forced 15 turnovers which led to 20 points while U of D only scored eight points off of 12 Beaver turnovers.

Buena Vista is now 7-4 on the year and will have some time off before resuming play after the New Year when it travels to Luther College on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, for a 4 p.m. tip-off.