SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team hosts Saint Mary’s at 7 p.m. Wednesday for its home opener at Gus Young Court. The Gusties enter the contest 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the MIAC, while the Cardinals are 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the league.
THE SERIES: Tonight’s matchup marks the 181st meeting between the Gusties and Cardinals on the hardwood with the Gusties leading the all-time series 126-54. Saint Mary’s has won the last two meetings, most recently defeating the Gusties 67-45 on Feb. 3 in Winona, Minn. During that game, the Gusties shot just 3-of-25 from three-point range and shot 25.8 percent from the field. Peter Lundquist (Sr., Rochester) led the Gusties with 10 points, while adding four rebounds and four blocks. Logan Rezac (Sr., Andover) and Kaleb Feahn (Sr., Waseca) chipped in nine points apiece. Nolan Malo (Jr., Owatonna) posted a team-high seven rebounds. Raheem Anthony led the Cardinals with 26 points, shooting 11-of-16 from the floor with six rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT: The Gusties put a scare into fourth-ranked Saint John’s on Sunday afternoon, but ended up falling 75-68.
There were three lead changes and five ties in the first 11-plus minutes of the game, resulting in a 16-16 score at the 8:24 mark. A three by Nolan Malo gave the Gusties a 19-16 advantage with 7:06 left in the first half and they held the lead for the next six minutes. Gustavus led by as much as eight, twice, in the final five minutes of the first half, before the Johnnies closed out the half on a 13-4 run, taking a 31-30 advantage into halftime.
The Gusties started the second with the hot hand, making their first three shots and a pair of free throws for a 38-31 lead in the first two minutes. The Johnnies slowly crept their way back into the game, eventually tying the score at 46-46 with 15:00 left in regulation, but a three from Kaleb Faehn put the visitors back in front. Faehn converted another three at the 13:11 mark to give the Black and Gold a 52-46 advantage. Saint John’s once again worked its way back into the game and was able to tie the score at 57-57 with six minutes remaining. Peter Lundquist made a jumper on the next possession to regain the lead, but the Johnnies answered with a layup and eventually took the lead for good at the 3:48 mark. A three from Benji Lundberg (Jr., Ellendale) with 18 seconds left brought the score to 72-68, but the home team closed out the game at the free throw line.
Gustavus shot 44.4 percent (28-63) from the floor and 36.4 percent (8-22) from three-point range. Saint John’s shot 45.3 percent and made 6-of-15 threes. The Johnnies made a difference on the boards, out-rebounding the Gusties 37-28. Both teams had 11 turnovers.
Lundquist scored a career-high 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. He also hauled in three rebounds with three blocks and two assists in just 20 minutes of play. Faehn finished with 14 points and four rebounds, while Lundberg contributed 12 points and Isaac Douglas (Sr., Montevideo) had 11.
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES: Through two games this season the Gusties are averaging 56.5 points and are allowing 71.0 points per game. They are shooting 35.2 percent from the floor and 23.4 percent from three-point range. Peter Lundquist leads the offense with 15.0 points per game. He is also shooting a team-high 46.4 percent from the field and averages 3.5 rebounds per game. Lundquist has accounted for seven of the team’s 10 blocked shots. Kaleb Feahn also averages double figures with 11.5 points per game, while shooting 35 percent from the field. Feahn is perfect from the free throw line at 7-for-7. Nolan Malo leads the team on the glass with 11 total rebounds (5.5/game) and averages 6.0 points per game.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: After losing its first game of the season, Saint Mary’s has won its last five games, most recently defeating Augsburg 81-79 on Monday. Through six games this season, the Cardinals are averaging 68.7 points and allow 63.8 points per game. They are shooting 47.8 percent from the floor and 38.4 percent from beyond the arc. Eli Cave leads the team with 21.7 points per game, while shooting 54.2 percent. Cave also average 6.0 rebounds and is a 41.7 percent (15-36) three-point shooter. Raheem Anthony also averages over 20 points at 20.7 per game, while shooting 58.8 percent. Anthony is the team’s best three-point shooter at 57.1 percent (12-21) and averages a team-high 7.7 rebounds.