SAINT PETER, Minn. – It’s been since the winter of 2020 since the Gustavus men’s basketball team last competed in a “normal” season and the wait is finally over as the Gusties travel to UW-Whitewater to take on the Warhawks tonight for a season opener.
After playing through the pandemic in a truncated 2021 season that was abruptly ended, the team is looking forward to resuming a full slate of games.
“We’re at the point where most things are similar to how it was pre-Covid aside from the protocols that have become almost second nature compared to last year,” said Head Coach Mark Hanson, who is in this 32nd season at the helm. “Last year is in the rearview mirror and doesn’t affect us in that regard and this team has been wonderful to work with.”
In the 2019-20 season the Gusties finished eighth in the MIAC with an 8-12 league record and went 8-17 overall. Despite the tough ending, the squad walked away with the experience gained that may pay dividends in 2021 as the Gusties bring back well acquainted veterans and a fresh lineup of young talent.
“We have five first-years which is a high number for us, they have strong work ethic, great attitudes, and even better people to look up to in becoming college basketball players,” Hanson said.
Nolan Malo (Sr., Owatonna) leads the way after starting in all 25 games in the last full season. Malo averaged 9.7 points and 4.1 rebounds. Joining him in the lineup, Kaleb Feahn (Sr., Waseca) returns as a top scorer for the Gusties finishing third on team with 299 points and ranked first with 13.6 on average in 2019-20. Feahn also led the team in free throw percentage at .818, making 45-of-55 from the charity stripe.
In the condensed 2021 spring season, Pete Lundquist (Sr., Rochester) registered 76 points for the Gusties in six games while Benji Lundberg (Sr., Ellendale) rounds out the senior squad after averaging 7.0 points last season. After sitting last season out, Jake Guse (Jr., Waseca) returns to the team after earning MIAC All-Defensive Team honors during the 2019-20 season.
To open the season, Gustavus hits the road to UW-Whitewater for a non-conference contest on Friday night and then travels to UW-Platteville on Saturday.
“We’re excited to see the things we’ve been working on in practice to play out,” Hanson said. “In our preseason scrimmages it took a bit to get out of old habits, but we have a lot of maturity established now. Now we just do what we’ve been doing the past three weeks in practice, and for some in the past three years.”