Tanner Hoops | Staff Writer
Another season of Beaver basketball has come to an end, both the Men’s and Women’s teams 2016-2017 campaigns ended with Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) tournament losses to eventual champion Wartburg.
The men’s basketball team was upset by 6th-seeded Wartburg 74-68 in an IIAC first round tournament game played Tuesday night at Siebens Fieldhouse. Buena Vista, the 3rd seed in the tournament, jumped out to a 13-4 lead, forcing a Wartburg timeout with 14:51 left in the first half.
The Knights responded with a 16-6 run to take their first lead of the game 20-19 with 8:18 left until halftime. Wartburg led by as many as seven in the first half before a Paul Gallagher three-pointer with under a minute to go made it 36-32 in favor of the visitors heading into the break.
BVU scored the first seven points of the second half before back-to-back Wartburg buckets gave the Knights the lead for good. Wartburg led by as many as 14 points in the second half before the Beavers cut the lead to four twice in the final 90 seconds but could get no closer.
Kennedy Drey finished with a game-high 27 points, while Paul Gallagher scored 12, and David Jeffries and Thomas Wisecup added 11 each. The Knights were led in scoring by Jordan Cannon’s 17 points. Wartburg, who went on to defeat Loras and Central to secure the IIAC tournament championship, shot 53% from behind the arc against BVU. The Knights will head to the NCAA national tournament with a record of 19-9.
The Beavers end the season with a record of 14-12 and graduate four seniors: Kennedy Drey, Paul Gallagher, Sean Morgan, and Owen Statlander.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to take the journey with any other guys,” said Drey, a three-time All-IIAC selection, “I’ve had great teammates and coaches along the way and have made friends for life.”
The Beaver women won their IIAC tournament opener over Coe 80-66 at Siebens Fieldhouse Tuesday night before falling to top-seeded Wartburg 82-67 in the IIAC semifinals Thursday night in Waverly.
Against Coe, the 4th-seeded Beavers scored 24 first quarter points and raced to a 44-32 halftime lead. Buena Vista never trailed in the game and lead by double digits for the entire second half. Holly Schneider finished with a career-high 21 points to lead four Beavers in double figures. Sidney Beckman scored 14, while Jordan Tynes and Jasmine Demers each added 10.
Against top-seeded (9th-ranked) Wartburg, the two teams traded baskets in the first quarter before BVU opened the second frame on an 18-8 run. Buena Vista led by as many as seven in the first half and carried a 37-35 lead into the break.
BVU led Wartburg 56-52 with 1:34 left in the third quarter before the Beavers went over seven minutes without a field goal, being outscored 22-2 during that stretch. Buena Vista got as close as within nine points in the final minutes.
Claudia Larson led the Beavers in scoring with 14 points, Demers added 12 and Tynes finished with nine. Wartburg’s Katie Sommer led all scorers with 22. The Knights would go on to defeat Luther in the tournament championship two days later and will head to the NCAA national tournament with a record of 25-2.
Buena Vista ends the year at 14-13 and graduates six seniors; Jordan Tynes, Nicole Snyder, Sidney Beckman, Liz Riessen, Jessica Jager and Jessica Chiu.
“I’m so proud of our team and the way we battled,” said 25th-year head coach Janet Berry after the Wartburg game, “our seniors have done so much for us, I couldn’t have asked for better leaders.”
Photo by Emily Kenny
