STORM LAKE, Iowa (Jan. 22, 2025) - The Buena Vista University men's basketball team led by as many as 14 points in the second half only to see visiting Nebraska Wesleyan close on a 17-2 run over the final 4:22 to stun the Beavers, 75-67, inside of Siebens Fieldhouse.

Sophomore Carter Sievers drained a three-point basket with 8:02 to play which gave BVU its largest lead of the night at 63-49. The Beavers then went scoreless over the next four minutes as the Prairie Wolves scored nine straight points to claw back within five at 63-58. Sophomore Kyle Sternberg took a nice feed from fifth-year Gunner Reed at the rim and finished with a layup to halt the run and put the Beavers back up seven with 4:22 remaining.

BVU got a defensive stop at the other end and was headed to the free-throw line for a 1-and-1 opportunity, but the first attempt rimmed out which led to a layup at the other end for the Prairie Wolves. The Beavers then turned it over the next trip down the floor and followed with back-to-back missed three-point attempts while NWU capitalized each time with a pair of baskets sandwiched around a three-pointer and took its first lead at 67-65 since it was 3-2 in the opening minute.

The Prairie Wolves blocked a layup attempt by the Beavers on the ensuing possession and made a big jumper in the paint to extend it out to a four-point led. NWU then made all six free-throw attempts down the stretch to put the game out of reach. 

Jack Groeteke made a three-pointer a minute into the contest that gave NWU a slim 3-2 lead, and that was the last time the Prairie Wolves led until the final minutes of the contest. It was a back-and-forth game throughout most of the opening half until Sternberg drilled a three-point shot that put BVU up nine midway through. Simon Daniel's long range trey gave the Beavers their first double-digit advantage of the night at 30-20 at the 8:23 mark. NWU pulled back within three and it remained a three point contest with under 4:00 left in the first half before BVU closed on a 14-7 run, including a turn-around bank shot from freshman Adam Bryte with 0.8 seconds left that gave the team a 46-36 halftime lead.

The Beavers maintained the double-digit cushion to begin the second half and reached a 14-point margin for the first time following three made free-throws from grad student Zane Neubaum at the midway point of the half before NWU began its run just minutes later.

Neubaum led BVU with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting and a strong 7-of-7 effort at the charity stripe. He moves within 41 points of tying Hall of Famer Adam Jones (1998-02) on the program's all-time scoring list at 1,831. Jim Ahrens (1958-62) holds the record at 1,975.

Daniel was 4-of-8 from the field and followed with 11 points, four rebounds and two steals. Sievers added nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. As a team, BVU had five players who dished out multiple assists and finished the game with 16 assists on 23 made baskets.

The Beavers made 9-of-17 from downtown in the first half but cooled off to just 2-of-16 over the final 20 minutes. The team finished the game shooting 40.4 percent from the field overall but did make 10-of-11 at the free-throw line. Nebraska Wesleyan (13-4, 6-2 A-R-C) made just 5-of-19 from distance in the game (26.3 percent) but managed to score 38 points in the paint and shoot 50 percent from the field overall while also making 14-of-17 from the stripe.

Buena Vista dips to 9-8 overall (4-4 A-R-C) and begins the second half of the league schedule on Saturday, Jan. 25, by traveling to Coe College for a 4 p.m. tip-off.