SAINT PETER, Minn. – Turnovers late in the game Saturday afternoon proved costly as the Gustavus men’s basketball team lost 65-58 to Bethel. The Gusties drop to 8-15 overall and 8-10 in the MIAC, while the Royals improve to 15-8 overall and 12-6 in the league.
Gustavus committed 18 turnovers, including four in the final four minutes, resulting in 21 extra points for the Royals.
“They killed us. It’s as simple as that,” Head Coach Mark Hanson said of the turnovers.
The two bigs for Gustavus played well in the loss as Nolan Malo (So., Owatonna) had 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, and Jake Guse (So., Waseca) posted 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including five rebounds and a couple blocks.
“Jake has been outstanding almost all year,” Hanson said. “We just didn’t get it to him enough there late, mostly because we were turning the ball over.”
The Gusties started the game on the right foot, taking a 15-4 lead in the first 6:18. An Isaac Douglas (Jr., Montevideo) layup with 5:56 remaining in the first half gave the Gusties their largest lead at 24-11. But the Royals climbed back into the game with a 19-5 run to grab a 30-29 advantage with 1:05 on the clock. Logan Rezac (Jr., Andover) found Guse under the basket for a last-second shot and the Gusties headed into the locker room with a 31-30 lead at the half.
The lead switched sides seven times in the second half with the final lead change at the 6:54 mark when Bethel gained a 54-52 advantage. The Royals increased the margin by as much as eight (60-52) with 2:18 left in the game. The Gusties had a chance to make a comeback, but turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions.
“We needed that one,” Hanson said. “We’ll see what else happened in the league. Athletes are resilient and we’ll have to be resilient.”
Gustavus shot 44.4 percent compared to 45.3 percent by the Royals. The Gusties won the rebound battle 30-22, but had 10 more turnovers.
Gustavus hosts Saint Mary’s at 7 p.m. Wednesday for its final home game of the season.