Tanner Hoops | Sports Writer
The Buena Vista University (BVU) basketball teams took the home floor for the final time during the regular season on Saturday, February 11, coming away with a doubleheader split against Coe College on Senior Day.
In the women’s game, Coe raced out to a 25-16 lead after one quarter and led by as many as 13 in the first half. The Kohawks connected on 63% of their first half field goals and led 49-40 heading into the break. The Beavers tied the game at 57-57 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter before Coe scored the final four points of the quarter. The Beavers were able to take their first lead of the game when a Jordan Tynes layup with 6:17 left in the fourth quarter put the hosts up 65-64. BVU wouldn’t trail the rest of the way and would go on to win by a final score of 79-72.
“Our theme today was respect and honor,” said BVU head coach Janet Berry, “We wanted to honor our seniors and go out there and play our best. I used to talk about the seniors before the game but that got to be too emotional.”
Jasmine Demers led three Beavers in double figures, scoring a game-high 22 points. Tynes added 15 and Sidney Beckman 12 as BVU improves to 12-11 (8-6 IIAC). Aleena Hobbs and Jordan Holmes each scored 19 points to lead Coe who moves to 11-12 (6-8 IIAC) on the season.
In the men’s contest, Buena Vista led for all but the final second of the game as Coe won on a buzzer-beater 86-85. BVU raced out to a 13-5 lead before Coe cut the deficit to 20-18 with 8:09 left in the first half. From there, the Beavers ended the first half on a 21-9 run and went into the lockerroom up 41-27. In the second half Buena Vista led by as many as 20 on three separate occasions; a Thomas Wisecup triple gave BVU a 75-55 lead with 7:20 remaining forcing a Kohawk timeout. From there, Coe went on a 28-10 run to cut the Beaver led to 85-83 with nine seconds left.
Buena Vista missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line, giving Coe the ball with six seconds left. Trevor Harland passed the ball to Marshall Shedeck who buried a three-pointer at the buzzer, giving Coe their first and only lead of the game with no time left.
Wisecup led four Beavers in double figures, scoring a team-high 18 points. Kennedy Drey added 15 and ten rebounds, David Jeffries had 14 points while Sean Morgan added 13. Hunter Pflughaupt lead Coe scoring 20 points, including knocking down 6 of 10 3-pointers. Matt Vanderhaar added 18 and Shedeck scored 17. Buena Vista moves to 14-9 (10-4 IIAC) while Coe improves to 9-14 (5-9 IIAC).
Despite the outcome, Senior Day still holds a special place in BVU head coach Brian Van Haaften’s heart. “On Senior’s Night I’ve introduced 99 people and I’ve stayed in contact with those 99 people,” said Van Haaften, “I think it’s really special once you become a member of this basketball team you’re a member for life”
Next up both Beaver teams travel to Central for a doubleheader on Wednesday before closing the regular season Saturday at Wartburg.
Photo by: Emily Kenny
