The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team defeated St. John’s University 83-73 Saturday afternoon in Collegeville, Minn. The Gusties improve to 16-2 in the MIAC and 18-5 overall, while the Johnnies fall to 6-11 in the MIAC and 8-14 overall.
Brett Boese sank a free-throw with 11:09 to play in the first half, completing a three-point play and giving the Gusties a 21-18 lead. The Johnnies would trail the rest of the game and would not get closer than two points. The Gusties were up eight points at the half leading 46-38.
St. John’s would not go down without a fight. Sam Jordan hit a three-pointer with 6:43 to play pulling the Johnnies back within two points. Tim Brown answered with a three-pointer on the following possession to bring the lead back to five points. The last nine points for Gustavus were made from the free-throw line. Tim Brown sank his final point of the afternoon from the free-throw line giving the Gusties a 12 point lead with :19 to play. Kevn Trauscht made the final two points for the Johnnies making the final score 83-73 in favor of the Gusties.
Tim Brown led the Gusties in scoring with 22 points. Three other Gusties were in double digits on Saturday. Doug Espenson added 19 points, Phil Sowden netted 14 points, and Adam TeBrake contributed 10 points for Gustavus. Paul Henrichs led the Johnnies with 21 points. Pat McKenzie added 20 points for Saint John’s.