DUBUQUE, Iowa - The No. 4 seed University of Dubuque men's basketball team advanced to the A-R-C semifinals on Tuesday night after defeating the No. 5 seed Buena Vista University Beavers 76-53. The Spartans leaned on their leading scorers Grady Thompson, Jacob Williams, and Jalen Scott in the second half and were able to pull away to advance in the conference tournament. 

The Spartans opened the game cold from the floor, not scoring a field goal until six minutes into the game, however the Spartans took their first lead of the night 5-4. The Beavers regained the lead with 8:02 left in the first half 18-15, but a 16-3 spurt over the next five minutes, capped off by a Spencer Roeder three-pointer put the Spartans out in front 31-21 with three minutes to go before the half. 

Two of the Beavers three triples in the first half came in the closing minutes as the Beavers closed the half on a 8-0 run. The Spartans led 31-29 at the half. 

The Spartans went on a run to start the second half, scoring the first 10 points to go up by 12. The Beavers stopped the run with a triple, but Scott answered right back on the other end with a triple of his own. The Spartans led by as many as 25 points (64-39) in the second half and shut the Beavers down, holding them to just 21.21% shooting from the field and 16.67% from the three-point line. 

Thompson finished with a game-high 19 points on 8-11 shooting. Williams scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Scott added 12 points and dished out seven assists. Both Williams and Scott each had two blocks. 

Hear from Robbie Sieverding
"Guys played a great second half and really guarded well tonight. They have some really good shooters and we defended the three point line well. Grady and Jake both got going in the second half and our bench gave us some good minutes. Big challenge on Thursday, but I'm excited we get another opportunity with our team!"

The Spartans move to 17-9 on the season.

Up Next
The Spartans will now travel to No. 1 seed Nebraska Wesleyan University on Thursday, February 26 to play the Praire Wolves in the A-R-C Semifinals. Tip off from Snyder Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Spartans swept the Prairie Wolves in the regular season and will be seeking their third win overall and second in Snyder Arena this Thursday.