SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team opened the MIAC season Saturday at home against Saint Mary’s and came away with a 74-71 victory at Gus Young Court, marking Justin DeGrood’s first victory as a head coach.
“The game was a classic of back and forth, mini run after mini run,” DeGrood said. “Both teams had their offenses clicking on high efficiency and I’m sure for anyone watching it was incredibly entertaining. I give a ton of credit to our guys for continuing to push and battle. I was especially proud of the way we generated open shots for one another. Spencer and Jordan had high totals for us scoring but it was so much bigger than that. Clutch shooting from guys off the bench, great screening from the bigs and really good creating from a variety of perimeter players. I know our guys wish we had held them down a bit more defensively but hats off to our guys and Coach Vandy for dialing in big stops down the stretch.
“We have talked so much through the first month about how important it is to stay the course and compete for a full 40. It was great to see our guys do that today. They earned it.”