NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team traveled to St. Olaf on Tuesday night where they took a 57-54 loss to the Oles. With the loss the Gusties fall to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the MIAC.
Gustavus had a strong start before the Oles tied it at 5-5 and a layup turned the tide for a 10-6 St. Olaf run. The Gusties played catch up with a 6-2 run, evening it at 15-15 before the Oles rattled off six more points. Despite a 7-3 advantage on second chance points, the Gusties trailed 32-24 at halftime. Spencer Swanson (Fy., Waconia) paced the Gustie offense with eight points.
The Gusties opened the second half with a 26-17 run to narrow the deficit. Three pointers from Evan Wieker (So., St. Michael) and Swanson capped the Gustie rally and held St. Olaf to a 51-50 lead in the final six minutes. The Oles remained strong on the charity stripe but Adam Biewen (So., Golden Valley) tacked on three points for a 54-53 Gustavus lead. As the clock dialed down the Oles made a pair of free throws before a final dunk gave Gustavus their first conference loss of the season.
Swanson had a team high 13 points while Nolan Malo (Sr., Owatonna) led with 11 rebounds and five assists.
The Gusties resume play on Monday with a non-conference game at Bethany Lutheran beginning at 7:00.