DECORAH, Iowa (Feb. 14, 2026) - The Buena Vista men's basketball team led by six at the half before Luther College rallied in the second half to build a double-digit lead, and the Norse eventually held off the Beavers in the closing minute for a 68-62 victory.

BVU came out and scored the game's first six points and led the entire first half, including by as much as 28-18 with 2:40 left. Luther got a pair of three's during an 8-0 run that cut the margin down to 24-22 before the Beavers scored the final four points to close out the period, including a layup by junior Sievers just before the buzzer, that put them in front 32-26 at the break.

The Beavers maintained the margin in the early part of the second half and led by as many as eight over the first two minutes. Luther continued to claw its way back and eventually tied things up at 41-41 with five minutes gone by. The Norse took their first lead at 48-45 midway through the half and eventually built a 12-point lead  at 60-48 with under 5:00 to go. BVU would then go on a 14-4 surge over the next four minutes to make it a two-point game with a minute left after a made three from junior Kyle Sternberg. Luther came right back with a bucket at the other end to extend the lead to four and the Beavers were unable to get any closer from there.

Sievers led BVU with 16 points, Sternberg added 15 and senior Jackson Jones added 10. Senior Jaden Brink chipped in with nine points and six rebounds with sophomore Jaden Jones also grabbing six boards.

Buena Vista shot 39 percent from the field in the game and went 7-of-30 from downtown. The Norse made one more field goal and were a touch better at 45 percent from the floor. Both teams took care of the ball with only eight turnovers apiece and were even on the glass at 35 rebounds each.

The Beavers dip to 13-10 on the year (6-8 A-R-C) and fall back into a tie for fifth-place with Simpson College in the league standings with two games to go. Both teams sit one game in front of Central College (5-9 A-R-C) and two clear of Wartburg College (4-10 A-R-C). They both trail the University of Dubuque (7-7 A-R-C) by just one game.

Next up for BVU is a trip to league-leading Nebraska Wesleyan (17-6, 12-2 A-R-C) on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Tip-off inside of Snyder Arena is at 7:30 p.m.