Edgewood shot a sizzling seven of 12 (58 percent) from three point range in the first half to take a 47-45 halftime lead after the score had been tied 11 times in the first 20 minutes. Buena Vista went on a 15-4 run to open the second half and never let the Eagles closer than five the rest of the way. Edgewood made just one of nine shots from three point range in the second half.
"The difference in the second half was we started to wear down the other team," said Buena Vista coach Brian Van Haaften after his 200th career win. "We controlled the offensive board and our running game was good so we were able to get easy hoops once in awhile."
Eric Wiebers led the balanced scoring attack with 20 points and eight assists. "We were surprised to be down at the half," the all-conference guard stated. "We didn't expect them to shoot that well, but we knew our offense would continue to wear them down."
Mike Cameron tallied 18 and Randy Bissen registered 17 points and 14 rebounds. Brandon Kies added 13 while Jordan Campbell knocked down 12 in the win.
Edgewood was led by Gregory Blaska, who poured in a game-high 24 points. Lake Michigan Conference MVP Seth Cooper was held to 10 points. David Michalkiewicz also contributed 10 points as the Eagles wrapped up their season at 17-10.
"Youth hurt us tonight," commented Edgewood coach G. Steven Larson. "Our guys were satisfied at halftime, which was not a good thing. For about a seven to eight minute stretch, we lost our urgency."
Buena Vista controlled a 41-30 rebounding edge. That was something Larson feared may happen.
"Coming into the game, we were concerned with their size and rebounding. Buena Vista showed real aggressiveness on the boards, and that hurt us."
Buena Vista shot 33 of 63 (52 percent from the floor). The Beavers turned the ball over just seven times while improving to 26-3.
Van Haaften raised his career coaching mark to 200-51 with the win and became one of the fastest coaches to reach the 200-win plateau in NCAA III history. Wilkes University coach Jerry Rickrode, who won his 200th game in just 249 tries, holds the NCAA III record.
Buena Vista will now travel to the University of Puget Sound for a second round game on Saturday, March 5 at 9:00 pm Central Standard Time. The contest will be broadcast locally on 97.5 FM KBVU.
Edgewood College vs Buena Vista University 3/3/05 7:00 at Storm Lake,IA At Storm Lake,IA BUENA VISTA UNIVERSITY 91, EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 74 EDGEWOOD COLLEGE (17-10) Blaska, Gregory 6-12 12-15 24; Michalkiewicz, David 4-6 0-0 10; Cooper, Seth 3-10 4-6 10; Kuhnau, Justin 3-4 0-0 8; Fahey, John 3-6 0-0 8; Wainwright, Luke 2-3 0-0 6; Averkamp, Charlie 2-9 0-0 4; Scott, Kyle 1-5 0-0 2; O'Brien, Tyler 1-1 0-0 2; Uelmen, Brian 0-0 0-0 0; Donner, Zack 0-0 0-0 0; Klees, Evan 0-0 0-0 0; Pratt, Tanner 0-0 0-0 0; Lehman, Nick 0-1 0-0 0; Espe, Jesse 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 16-21 74. BUENA VISTA UNIVERSITY (26-3) WIEBERS, Eric 8-17 1-1 20; CAMERON, Michael 6-8 4-4 18; BISSEN, Randy 6-12 5-11 17; KIES, Brandon 4-5 5-6 13; CAMPBELL, Jordan 5-11 1-1 12; VIET, Reece 1-2 0-0 3; WITTRY, Matt 1-3 0-0 2; JOEKEL, Mark 1-2 0-0 2; GRIMM, Nolan 1-1 0-1 2; SCHMIDT, Jesse 0-2 2-2 2; METZ, Sean 0-0 0-0 0; HOLTON, Eric 0-0 0-0 0; FRANKLIN, Rahn 0-0 0-0 0; YOUNG, Derrick 0-0 0-0 0; FRANCIC, Nesha 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-63 18-26 91. Edgewood College.............. 47 27 - 74 Buena Vista University........ 45 46 - 91 3-point goals-Edgewood College 8-21 (Wainwright, Luke 2-3; Fahey, John 2-2; Kuhnau, Justin 2-3; Michalkiewicz, David 2-4; Scott, Kyle 0-4; Averkamp, Charlie 0-2; Cooper, Seth 0-2; Blaska, Gregory 0-1), Buena Vista University 7-20 (WIEBERS, Eric 3-10; CAMERON, Michael 2-4; VIET, Reece 1-2; CAMPBELL, Jordan 1-3; JOEKEL, Mark 0-1). Fouled out--Edgewood College-None, Buena Vista University-None. Rebounds-Edgewood College 30 (Blaska, Gregory 9), Buena Vista University 41 (BISSEN, Randy 14). Assists-Edgewood College 12 (Michalkiewicz, David 3), Buena Vista University 20 (WIEBERS, Eric 8). Total fouls-Edgewood College 19, Buena Vista University 16. A-1100 First Round NCAAIII Tournament