SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team hosted St. Olaf on Wednesday night and took a 96-90 win in overtime, improving to 9-6 overall and 6-4 in the MIAC. Kaleb Feahn (Sr., Waseca)and Nolan Malo (Sr., Owatonna) each set new career scoring highs in the process, Feahn with 30 and Malo with 27.
“It was nice to see the seniors really come to play and put a good effort out,” said Head Coach Mark Hanson. “I also give a lot of credit to the rest of the team in getting the ball to the right places.”
Benji Lundberg (Sr., Ellendale) got the Gusties on the board with a three-pointer. Feahn rattled off eight points while Pete Lundquist (Sr., Rochester) and Evan Wieker (So., St. Michael) combined for six more to take a 17-7 lead in the opening five minutes.
St. Olaf responded with a 27-20 run before Gustavus erupted holding a 12 point lead with three minutes left. The Oles played catch up to keep the Gusties at a 40-35 lead at halftime.
Feahn paced the offense with 11 points and Jake Guse (Jr., Waseca) added four rebounds. The Gusties went 5-10 on the charity stripe and had the advantage on rebounds 17-13.
Two minutes into the second half, St. Olaf tied it 44-44 and went on an 8-5 run for their first lead of the game. Malo made a three-pointer to regain the Gustie lead 58-54 and Feahn sunk a trio of free throws to keep the momentum going.
Malo and Lundberg added on six points in a 67-57 lead before the Oles took a timeout with nine minutes remaining in the second half.
St. Olaf narrowed the deficit to five points in the final seven minutes before going on a 7-4 run. Wieker made a pair of free throws and Malo added on a three-pointer to give Gustavus breathing room with four minutes left. The Oles tilted the lead back in their favor 79-77. Lundberg and Malo kept the Gusties alive at 83-83 to force it into overtime.
Feahn started the final frame with a three-pointer and a layup, and Lundberg tacked on another three for a 91-87 lead. The Oles shrunk the Gustie lead to 93-90 until Malo went three-for-three on free throws with the clock winding down to secure the victory.
Gustavus is next in action when they travel to Macalester on Saturday Jan. 29th at 3:00.
“The Scots have a good bunch and they’ve been playing well. It’ll be a battle and we’ll need to bring our best game forward.”