LINCOLN, Neb. (Feb. 22, 2025) - The Buena Vista University men's basketball team needed a win on Saturday to keep its conference tournament hopes alive, but the Beavers saw their season end with a lopsided 80-55 road loss at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Sophmore Carter Sievers was the lone Beaver to score in double figures, finishing with a career-high four made three-point buckets and 12 points. Junior Ned Hayes made a pair of long range baskets and just missed out on double figures with nine points. As a team, BVU had a tough shooting night by going 33 percent from the field and was 12-of-41 from downtown (29.3 percent).

The Prairie Wolves, despite making only 5-of-20 from beyond the arc, was efficient in the paint where it scored 48 of their points. They finished the game shooting 53.4 percent from the field, including a sizzling 56 percent in the opening half as it built a 14-point halftime advantage. NWU also attempted seven more free-throws than BVU and was 13-of-15 overall.

BVU trailed 25-17 midway through the first half and tried to stay within striking distance after a Gunner Reed three-point make kept it a 10-point game with 4:22 to play. BVU was held to only five points the rest of the half as NWU led 45-31 at the break. The scoring drought carried over into the second half as the Beavers were held scoreless the first five minutes of the half while the Prairie Wolves scored the first eight points and never looked back, eventually leading by as many as 31.

A balanced scoring attack had five players score in double figures for NWU (19-6, 12-4 A-R-C), led by 14 points from Carter Glenn, as the Prairie Wolves locked up the No. 3 seed into next week's American Rivers Conference Tournament.

BVU finishes its season at 12-13 overall (7-9 A-R-C). The team would have been eliminated from the A-R-C even with a win as Wartburg College knocked off Coe College to earn the sixth and final berth. The game was also the final game in the careers of Reed, Zane Neubaum, Simon Daniel, Brody Gish, Gabe Peterson and Blake Butvidas.