MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team claimed an 84-81 victory over conference-leading Augsburg in one of its top performances of the season. With the win, the Gusties improve to 11-7 overall and 8-5 in the MIAC. Four Gusties racked up double digits in scoring. Nolan Malo (Sr., Owatonna) paced the offense with 23 points and eight rebounds, Kaleb Feahn (Sr., Waseca) added 21 points, Pete Lundquist (Sr., Rochester) tacked on 17, and Adam Biewen (So., Golden Valley) recorded 11.
“It was nice to win against a good team on the road, and have a Gustavus crowd cheering us on in Minneapolis,” said Head Coach Mark Hanson. “We calmed down and played within ourselves in the second half. We came into the game a little anxious. We started running our offense longer, and got them a chance to break down and create some better shots. Once the shots went in it was easier to play defense as well and be confident on that end as well. I think our defense and offense helped each other out very well.”
Augsburg entered the game with a hot start, taking a 7-0 lead before Malo got the Gusties on the board with four points. The Auggies ran out to a 15-6 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half. Pete Lundquist and Feahn led the Gustie comeback adding 10 more points in a 28-22 run with three minutes left.
Despite Augsburg leading for 17 minutes of the first half, Gustavus pulled away in the final three minutes as Jake Guse (Jr., Waseca) dunked to tie the game 37-37 and Feahn added on a three-pointer for a 42-39 Gustie lead at halftime.
Augsburg regained the lead back five minutes into the second half at 51-50. A free throw from Guse reset the game and Gustavus rallied as Feahn rattled off six points and Lundquist added seven in the 67-54 lead with 9:44 left.
Malo, Lundquist, and Feahn added 11 more points and Spencer Swanson (Fy., Waconia) sunk a pair of free throws for a 80-72 advantage with 2:33 remaining.
The Auggies put the pressure on at their home court, narrowing the deficit to three points with 24 seconds left. Swanson remained consistent on free throws and Augsburg responded with a layup to keep the score close down to the wire. With seven seconds left, Malo made a free throw to secure the Gustie win.
Gustavus shot 51.7 percent from the field and went 13-of-22 on the charity stripe, while having the advantage on rebounds 41-30.
The Gusties continue on the road when they head to Concordia on Wednesday with tip-off at 7:45 p.m.