The Gustavus men’s basketball team fell to 2-2 in conference play with an 80-72 loss at Carleton on Monday night. The Gusties, who led 30-29 at halftime, were outscored 51-42 by the Knights in the second half. Junior Andrew Olson led Gustavus with 23 points.
Carleton jumped out to a quick 16-3 lead in the game, but the Gusties countered with a 13-4 run and trailed 20-16 midway through the first half. Gustavus continued to rally and trailed 22-21 with 7:19 on the clock. The Knights pulled back ahead with a 7-0 run to take a 29-21 lead with 4:53 left before the intermission. The Gusties, however, shut Carleton out the rest of the way and held a 30-29 lead at halftime. Andrew Olson and Phil Sowden each scored seven points to lead the Gusties in the first half, while Dan Forkrud of Carleton led all scorers with 10 points.
Gustavus scored the first two point of the second half to take a 32-29 lead, however, Carleton would score five straight points to take a 34-32 lead at the 18:18 mark. The Knights would not relinquish the lead the rest of the game. Carleton would extend its lead to as many as 13 points several times in the second half including a 71-58 advantage with 4:06 left to play. Gustavus would cut the lead to six at 78-72 with 0:45 remaining in the contest, however the Knights would hold on for the 80-72 victory.
Carleton shot a red-hot 66.7 percent (18-27) from the field in the second half and finished the game making 55.6 percent of its shots (30-54). Gustavus shot 50 percent from the field in the game (26-52).
Gustavus placed four players in double figures including Olson with 23, Sowden with 15, TeBrake with 12, and Trevor Wittwer with 11. Dan Forkrud led Carleton with 24 points.
The Gusties will travel to Winona on Wednesday to face Saint Mary’s at 8:00 pm.