DULUTH, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team came up short 67-66 at St. Scholastica on Monday night, dropping to 9-11 overall and 9-6 in the MIAC. The loss marks the eighth game this season decided by one possession where the Gusties hold a 4-4 record in such games.
“Tonight wasn’t even close to the best version of ourselves. Credit to Scholastica as they certainly deserved the win,” Head Coach Justin DeGrood said.
The Gusties started the game with the first lead but then turned the ball over four times and missed their next four shots from the field, allowing the Saints to score 14 consecutive points. The Saints built their lead up to 14 points twice before the Gusties ended the half on a 9-3 run, making the score 38-32 at the break.
“Defensively we weren’t sharp right from the get-go,” DeGrood said. “Not only did they score at a really efficient rate but our fouling created a lot of free throws and foul trouble for us. I was happy how we settled in but spent too much of the night having too many ups and downs.
Back-to-back buckets from Spencer Swanson (So., Waconia) gave the Gusties their first lead since the opening minute, 42-40 at the 15:32 mark. The Saints regained the advantage four minutes later at 48-47, which proved to be the final lead change of the game.
Trailing by five with 53 seconds remaining, Evan Wieker (Jr., St. Michael) made the front end of two free throws while Jake Guse (Sr., Waseca) collected an offensive rebound on the second shot and made a layup, bringing the score to 67-65. Jordan Schommer (Sr., Merrifield) then made it a one-point game by sinking one of two free throws, but that was the last point of the game. The Gusties had an opportunity to win the game after inbounding the ball with three seconds left, but a long three-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.
“Offensively we never got it going,” DeGrood said. “Turnovers were certainly an issue that hurt us from not getting looks but also giving them extra possessions. Additionally we got a lot of great looks all night but didn’t feel like we took them well which in turn led to a low field goal percentage all night.”
Swanson paced the offense with 20 points and led the team with 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double this season. Wieker finished with 12 points and five boards.
The Gusties shot a pedestrian 41.8 percent from the floor and made just 5-of-21 three pointers. St. Scholastica was limited to 41.5 percent shooting and made 6-of-21 from long range. The Gusties edged the Saints on the boards 33-30 but committed 15 turnovers, resulting in 24 points for the home team.
Gustavus travels to Saint John’s on Wednesday night.