STORM LAKE, Iowa (Feb. 14, 2024) - The Buena Vista men's basketball team made a season-high 18 three-point buckets and shot a blistering 46.2 percent from downtown which helped aid the team to a commanding 103-68 home victory over visiting Simpson College on Wednesday night.

Senior Zane Neubaum was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 24 points while sophomore Jackson Jones was 3-of-7 an followed with 15 points. Eleven different players drilled at least one trey from long distance for the Beavers which finished 18-of-39 overall.

Neubaum scored at least 20 points in a game for the 12th time this season and now sits with 1,432 career points which is only 24 away from moving into a tie with BVU Hall of Famer, Scott Weber, for ninth on the program's all-time list.

Senior Gunner Reed turned in 14 points, freshman Carter Sievers had 13 points and a game-high seven assists, while senior Michael Santich came off the bench to score 11.

Buena Vista shot better than 51 percent from the field in both halves, but was able to break open an 18-point halftime lead by going 12-of-23 from deep in the second. Defensively, the Beavers held Simpson to just 4-of-18 shooting from downtown.

The Storm led 4-2 out of the gate but Sievers tied the game with a layup and then converted an and-one opportunity to put BVU up 7-4, and the Beavers never trailed from there. Neubaum broke free for a fastbreak dunk that made it 16-6. The Beavers were able to keep the lead around the double-digit mark for most the half before Jones and Neubaum each connected on three-point shots near the end of the half with Jones then sinking a pair of free-throws which pushed the margin over 20 for the first time at 46-25. Simpson would get a three-point make as time expired that made it an 18-point game.

Neubaum began the second half with a layup and free-throw followed by a three-point make that quickly made it a 24-point lead. Reed then made the second of his three-point baskets to make it a 61-31 lead with just over 16 minutes to play. Simpson did claw back to make it a 20-point game with still over 12 minutes to go, but senior Ryan Mendoza along with Santich drilled three-point shots to push it back to a 73-49 lead. The lead again hit 30 after a made three-pointer from freshman Koleson Evans with under 7:00 remaining, and the Beavers would later lead by as many as 36.

Jack Hutchinson came off the bench to score 16 points for Simpson which ended the season at 9-16 overall (3-13 A-R-C). 

Buena Vista, which has already secured the sixth-seed into the conference tournament, improves to 13-11 on the year (6-9 A-R-C). The Beavers close out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 17, against Nebraska Wesleyan (21-3, 12-3 A-R-C). The Prairie Wolves are currently tied atop the league standings with Coe College. Tip-off inside of Siebens Fieldhouse is set for 4 p.m.