PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Buena Vista (Iowa) University turned a close game with a 17-0 run midway through the second half and the Lakeland University men's basketball team fell by a 89-69 score Friday evening at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies led with 12 minutes left but went cold down the stretch. A game that was close most of the way with 15 lead changes turned with the Beavers' run, and Buena Vista won just the second meeting ever between the schools and the first since 1994.

The game appeared set for a fantastic finish after Lakeland (0-5 overall) had just completed a rally all the way back from an 11-point deficit late in the first half. The Muskies took their first lead of the second half when Peyton Mrotek (Jr.-Luxemburg, Wis.) hit a three-pointer for a 55-53 lead with 12:37 left in the game.

Buena Vista (2-2 overall) retook the lead on an Adam Bryte three-pointer with 11:51 left, and that would spark the Beavers to scoring 17 straight points over just over three minutes. Bryte hit two more threes and scored 11 points in the run, and Zane Neubaum's layup with 8:37 left pushed the BVU lead to 70-55.

Lakeland came back with eight straight points in less than a minute, including consecutive three-pointers by Mrotek and Isaiah Hammond (Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) and two free throws by Asanjai Hunter (Jr.-Racine, Wis.) to cut the Buena Vista margin to 70-63. The Beavers would soon answer with a 7-0 run of their own, including a steal and dunk by Gunner Reed and then a three-pointer by Kyle Sternberg to make it 79-65 with 4:19 left.  The Muskies would score just four points in the final seven minutes and BVU finished the game on a 17-4 run to close it out.

The teams went back and forth in an entertaining first half that included 13 lead changes. Both teams were above 60% shooting for a time before cooling some, but the Beavers used a 16-4 run late in the half to pull ahead and held a 47-42 lead at the break.

Lakeland finished the game shooting 40.3% (25 of 62), making just 8 of 28 shots (28.6%) in the second half, including 2 of its last 12. Hunter scored 17 points, Mrotek tallied 16 including four three-pointers, Hammond added 14 and Tim Ward (Jr.-Plainfield, Ill.) chipped in 12 points plus a team-high eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

Buena Vista finished shooting 53.1% (34 of 64), hitting 50% or better in both halves. The Beavers also drained 11 of 26 from three-point range (42.3%) and outrebounded the Muskies 37-32.

Neubaum led Buena Vista with 28 points, making 10 of 17 from the field and all six of his free throws. Reed also finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds and Bryte added a season-high 19 points, six rebounds and three steals off the bench.

Lakeland now readies for its Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opener this coming Tuesday against St. Norbert College in De Pere at 7 p.m.