BOX SCORE | Iowa Conference Basketball Tournament Page
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- Buena Vista University captured its seventh Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) men's basketball tournament title Saturday evening with a 54-52 victory over regular-season champion Coe College in front of a raucous crowd at Eby Fieldhouse.
The Beavers (17-10) led 30-22 at halftime after holding the Kohawks to just 23.3 percent (7-of-30) shooting in the first half while shooting 35.7 percent (10-of-28) themselves. Coe (19-8) opened the second half on an 18-4 run to take a 40-34 lead with 11:12 to play. Buena Vista responded with a 9-0 run of its own over the next four minutes and led 43-40 with 7:12 remaining.
Coe's Seth Light outscored the Beavers, 8-3, over the next 2:42 to give the Kohawks a 48-46 lead, but his layup with 4:30 left would be Coe's field goal of the game. Buena Vista tied the game seconds later with a pair of free throws from Doug Bissen then took the lead behind five straight points from Wes Nordquist.
Kevin Gaster and David Mataloni each nailed a pair of pair of pressure-filled free throws to make it a 53-52 game with 1:03 showing. With 32 seconds remaining, Kevin Gaster stripped the ball from Buena Vista guard Michael Elming, giving Coe a chance to take the lead. However, Mataloni had a jumper blocked by Nordquist with 21 seconds left. Mataloni then fouled Nordquist, who hit the second of two attempts at the charity stripe to make it a two-point game.
The Kohawks had two shots at the win on their final trip down the floor. Mataloni missed a jumper with four seconds to play, but Nathan Joens grabbed the rebound and kicked it out to Andrew Wirth at the top of the key. Wirth's attempt hit both the front and back of the rim before rattling out to give the Beavers the 54-52 victory.
Each team had three in double-figures. Buena Vista was led by Nordquist's 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Janssen had a team-high 14 points while Bissen added 12. Seth Light led all players in scoring with 18 points. He also had nine rebounds. Garrett Cross added 10 points and Mataloni suffered through a 3-for-20 shooting night to also finish with 10.
The victory gives Buena Vista the Iowa Conference's automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. It will be the Beavers' ninth time in the Division III field, all since 1997 and all under current head coach Brian VanHaaften. Buena Vista also made a pair of appearances in the NAIA National Tournament (1962, 1964).
