NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team shot a season-low 3-of-21 from beyond the arc Wednesday night at St. Olaf, suffering a 74-65 loss. The Gusties drop to 6-10 overall and 6-5 in the MIAC, while the Oles improve to 10-6 overall and 6-5 in the league.
After a slow start that saw just 22 combined points in nearly nine minutes of play, the Gusties turned a three-point deficit into an 10-point lead, 28-18, at the 5:52 mark. Evan Wieker (Jr., St. Michael), who finished the half with eight points, made a couple driving layups and Jordan Schommer (Sr., Merrifield) added an and-one plus a jumper during the 15-6 run. The Oles answered by ending the half on a 15-7 run and the Gusties carried a 35-33 advantage into the locker room at half.
Wyatt Olson (So., Saint Peter) had a strong first half, recording 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including four rebounds and two steals.
The second half had a familiar start to the first with both teams not shooting particularly well. There were just 16 combined points in the first eight minutes leading to an Ole timeout with 12:33 on the clock and the home team up 43-41. After the break, Spencer Swanson (So., Owatonna) found a rhythm, making his next three shots for seven points in less than two minutes, tying the game at 48 with 10:44 to go.
St. Olaf ensued with a 7-2 run and never trailed the rest of the game, leading by as much as nine points on three different occasions.
Gustavus was limited to 38.9 shooting from the floor while the Oles edged the Gusties on the boards 41-38.
Olson finished the game with a season-high 17 points with five rebounds. Wieker added 16 points while Swanson contributed 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Gustavus travels to Carleton on Saturday afternoon.