Beavers upend Dutch, remain perfect in IIAC

The BVU men's basketball team overcame a crucial opponent Thursday night as they upended the Dutch of Central College 77-68. The Beavers were picked to finish behind Central in the preseason coaches poll but instead continued a recent hot streak  to secure their third Iowa Conference victory in as many games.

The game was back and forth most of the way. Central had the first big lead of the game, leading by 11 with 7:03 to go in the first half. However, BVU clawed back into the game and trailed 30-29 at half.

It was more of the same story in the second half. With 13:30 to go, BVU managed to take a seven point lead, 44-37. After that point, Central clawed back into the game and eventually gained a four point lead, 58-54, with 6:27 to go. However, the final six minutes were all BVU, as they outscoring Central 25-12 to win the game. The Beavers were led by first year Troy Ticknor with 17 points. Fellow first-year Wes Nordquist had 16 points, and senior Kevin Osborne had 13. Defensively, sophomore Doug Bissen had another excellent performance with 11 rebounds.

The Beavers headed to Dubuque last weekend to take on conference rival Loras College and used a strong offensive performance to defeat the Duhawks 77-69. Loras got off to a quick 9-0 lead but BVU crawled back into the game and after a 13-8 run, trailed just 30-27 at the half. Early in the second half, Osborn tied the game with a three pointer, sparking a back and forth battle that lasted until approximately 14 minutes left in the game.

Ticknor knocked down a three pointer, sparking a 22-8 run over the next nine minutes. From that point onward, the Duhawks never got any closer than five. Senior Nathan Parker scored 17 points to lead all of the Beaver scorers. Ticknor finished with 13 points while sophomore Michael Elming followed with 12. Bissen and Nordquist each had five rebounds. Parker says the team has really focused on improving key aspects to their game.

“Our coaches have done a great job of focusing on the details in practice, and everyone on the team is committed to working hard and being as successful as possible,” Parker said. “That combination has helped us bounce back from a couple losses and get [us] back to playing well.”

The Beavers shot 66.7% from the field against the Duhawks. Parker says the team does a good job of taking quality shots.

“We executed well and take good, open shots. This team is very unselfish which makes it easy to score the basketball because nobody is taking tough shots,” Parker said.
When asked what the team needs to do to remain competitive in conference, Parker echoed head coach Brian VanHaaften’s thoughts from a week ago.

“We have to keep playing hard and out working teams,” Parker said. “We win games when we defend and rebound the ball consistently.”

BVU improves to 5-3 overall (3-0 IIAC). They now face Northwestern College on December 19.