MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team completed the series sweep over Augsburg on Saturday with an 84-82 win. The Gusties improve to 9-10 overall and 9-5 in the MIAC, while the Auggies drop to 6-13 overall and 4-10 in the league.
Augsburg took advantage of nine Gustie turnovers in the first half, resulting in 10 points off the takeaway, and gained its largest lead at 17-9 with 14:27 left in the half. Jordan Schommer (Sr., Merrifield) made a second chance layup at the 10:10 mark, sparking an 18-9 run over the next eight minutes for a 32-28 lead. The Auggies were able to tie the score at 36-36 to end the first.
After three lead changes to start the second half, a pair of free throws from Wyatt Olson (So., Saint Peter) gave the Gusties a 45-43 advantage and they never trailed the rest of the way. The Gusties led by as much as eight points on three occasions, including an 80-72 lead with 49 seconds on the clock. The Auggies did not go quietly, hitting back-to-back threes to bring the score down to two points. But Evan Wieker (Jr., St. Michael) sealed the game at the line, making his last four shots from the charity stripe.
The Gusties shot 52.5 percent from the floor and were 19-for-27 from the free throw line. Augsburg was limited to 43.1 percent shooting. The Gusties also won the rebound battle 40-34.
Spencer Swanson (So., Waconia) scored a game-high 27 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the floor. He also led the team with 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Wieker scored 18 points with three assists, while Adam Biewen (Jr., Golden Valley) added 14 points and nine boards.
Gustavus next travels to Duluth on Monday for a conference game at St. Scholastica.