STORM LAKE, Iowa (Feb. 17, 2024) - The Buena Vista men's basketball team looked to play spoiler as it hosted Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon inside of Siebens Fieldhouse, but the Prairie Wolves closed on a 13-4 run which lifted them to a 65-57 American Rivers Conference victory to wrap up the regular season.

NWU took its first lead at 7-5 and led by as many as nine in the opening half before the Beavers trimmed the margin down to 26-24 at the break. The Prairie Wolves pushed their cushion up to six early in the second half before BVU again chipped away and got back within 32-31 after three made free-throws from senior Zane Neubaum.

Neubaum later gave the Beavers their first lead since the opening minutes when he drilled a three-pointer to make it 36-35 with 14 minutes to go. After NWU converted an and-one opportunity to regain the lead, freshman Carter Sievers gave it right back to BVU with a made three-point bucket of his own. Sophomore Jackson Jones then made it a 42-39 lead with a trey of his own.

Neither team was able to build more than a five-point margin throughout the middle of the half, and it remained a one-point game at 52-51 with 3:13 on the clock. A dunk by the Prairie Wolves then sparked the run down the stretch as the game reached a double-digit lead for the first time with under a minute left.

Senior Gunner Reed posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Beavers. He finished 6-of-8 shooting and was 3-of-4 at the free-throw line. Fellow senior Zane Neubaum was held to just 4-of-13 shooting but was right behind Reed with 14 points to go along with six boards. Sievers came off the bench and chipped in with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jones just missed out on double digits with nine points.

The Beavers finished 5-of-20 from downtown and just 39 percent overall despite sinking 12-of-14 from the charity stripe. The team held the Prairie Wolves to only 1-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, but NWU was 56 percent from the floor in the second half after a 33-percent performance in the first. The Prairie Wolves, who secured a share of the regular season crown with the win, made 7-of-8 free-throw attempts over the final minute and finished 18-of-23 overall.

Buena Vista closes out the regular season at 13-12 (6-10 A-R-C). The Beavers will be the sixth-seed in next week's A-R-C Tournament and will tip-off on the road at third-seed Loras College on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. The Prairie Wolves earn the top-seed and a first round bye.