WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg men's basketball suffered its first American Rivers Conference loss of the season as its comeback attempt fell short at home. The Knights move to 13-3 overall and 6-1 in conference play.
Game Summary
The Orange & Black jumped out to a 14-9 lead five minutes into the game and neither team was able to pull away from the other. The Knights continued to lead with just over 10 minutes left in the half after a
Cade Daugherty three-ball made the score 20-15.
Wartburg would stretch the lead to 10 points, but the Beavers put together a 11-0 run to take the lead with four minutes left in the first. After trading baskets, BVU never looked back in the first half and took a 49-43 into the break.
Three-point shooting was the story of the first half, as both teams made seven. Garrett Sittner and Michael Demers led the way offensively for the Beavers with 19 and 12 points respectively.
Keagan John was on fire for the Knights in the first half, going four for four from downtown to lead the Knights with 12 points.
The Knights spent the beginning of the second half chipping away at BVU's lead, but steady scoring from the Beavers kept the Orange & Black behind. The Beavers would take their largest lead with 16:45 to play after a layup made the score 55-45.
Wartburg went on a 12-0 run, capped off by a
Donovon Smith three-pointer, over the next three minutes to tie the game at 55 all. Both teams would go on small runs that kept Wartburg slightly behind throughout the second half, but after a
Jack Molstead three-pointer with 2:22 to play, the score was tied 79-79. Sittner had the immediate answer to make the score 81-79, but
Drew Olson took it to the hoop and got a bucket to tie it up again at 81. A Zane Neubaum three-pointer put the Beavers ahead for good as BVU held on to win 88-84.
Sittner finished with 38 points, while teammate Demers scored 20 for Buena Vista. BVU won despite being outshot from the field 53.2% to 43.7% and 47.7% to 28.9% from three. The Beavers held a 41-33 advantage in rebounding, including 16-7 on the offensive glass.
Game Leaders
Olson filled up the stat sheet today and led the Knights in scoring, assists, and steals. The senior guard scored 18 points from 46.2% shooting from the field and was a perfect five of five from the free throw line. The Osage, Iowa native also recorded eight assists and six steals in the loss.
Codey Hicks grabbed a team-high six rebounds and added 11 points offensively. The junior forward shot an efficient 71.4% from the field and added a block on the defensive end.
John had another career day shooting the ball, as he set a new career high for three's made in a game with five. The senior guard had just set the previous mark of four made three's the game before. John leads the teams in three's made this season and is shooting a team-best 44.8% from downtown.
Next Time Out
The Knights are in action again on Wednesday, Jan. 19 as they hit the road for an A-R-C matchup with Loras College set for 7:30 p.m.
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