Bethany Lutheran College senior guard Alfonso Mayfield scored on a layup as time expired to lead the Vikings to a 87-85 victory over the Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team Tuesday night in Mankato. Mayfield scored 20 of his game-high 32 points in the second half to lead BLC back from a 14-point deficit.
The Gusties were able to pull away to the first substantial lead of the game when Andrew Doble (Jr., Sarasota, Fla.) hit a jumper at the 11:57 mark to give Gustavus a 17-11 lead. BLC was able to reel the visitors back though, scoring nine of the next 11 points. A layup by Brady Balzum with 9:36 to play in the first half gave BLC the lead back momentarily at 20-19, but the Gusties responded with a 12-2 run capped by a three-pointer by Mike DesLauriers (So., Minnetonka, Minn.) to take a nine-point lead at 31-22 with 6:18 left in the half. The Vikings slowly chipped away at the Gustavus lead, getting to within a pair at 38-36 with 2:27 remaining in the half, but the Gusties ended the half on a 9-2 run to take a 47-38 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Coming out of the intermission, the Gusties continued to put distance themselves and the Vikings, extending the lead to 14 points on a number of occasions during the first five minutes of the second half, the last time coming on a layup by Doble with 15:00 to play to lead 62-48. BLC charged back, though, as the Vikings outscored the Gusties 35-21 over the next 12:33. Mayfield and Dewan Grant combined for 20 points during the stretch, while Balzum added seven. Jeff Zimmerman completed the BLC comeback by draining a three-pointer with 2:27 to play off an assist from Grant.
With the teams tied at 85-85 in the final minute of play, the Gusties looked to be in a position to take the lead with a hoop, but Zimmerman forced a Gustavus turnover with 26 seconds to play. BLC ran the clock down to 12 seconds before taking a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Grant took the inbounds pass and hovered on the perimeter for a few seconds before driving to the basket. At the last second, Grant made a pass to a cutting Mayfield, who sank the layup as time expired.
Doble led five Gusties in double-figures with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Phil Sowden (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn.) added 14 points and 11 assists, while Tyler Kramer (Sr., Hayfield, Minn.) hit three three-pointers and finished with 13 points. Andrew Olson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn.) and Jesse Van Sickle (Fr., Garden City, Minn.) each tallied 11 points for Gustavus.
Mayfield made 11 of 20 shots from the field and nine of 10 from the charity stripe, but also finished with game-highs in rebounds (6) and assists (6) in 40 minutes of play. DewanGrant added 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line, while also tallying six boards, five assists and a steal. Brady Balzum, in his first game in a Viking uniform, was third on the team with 13 points and six rebounds.
Gustavus (5-4), which closed out the nonconference portion of the schedule with Tuesday’s loss, jumps back into MIAC play Saturday when they travels to Winona Saturday to face Saint Mary’s University.
The Vikings, who fell to the Gusties by a 110-64 score last season in St. Peter, evened the all-time series between the schools at a win apiece.