Jay Stien contests a shot by Concordia’s James Baldwin. Andrew Doble (33) looks to grab the rebound.
Trevor Wittwer rips down the rebound as Cobber junior Erik Johnson looks on.
Phil Sowden drives down the lane.
Jesse Van Sickle finished with nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 performance from the field.
The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team shot 61.5% from the field and held a 2-to-1 advantage in rebounds en route to a 80-57 win over Concordia Monday in St. Peter. Andrew Doble (Jr., Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney) led four Gusties in double-figures with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting off the bench.
With the exception of a tie at 2-2 in the first minute of the first half, the Gusties led from start to finish. Gustavus jumped out to an 11-2 lead and the Cobbers were never within five points the rest of the way. It was not for lack of effort, though. Every shot seemed like it had a chance to go in, even a 12-foot floater from Mike DesLauriers (Minnetonka, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret) as time expired in the first half that gave Gustavus a 12-point lead at halftime.
Both teams shot over 60% from the field in the first half, with Gustavus holding a 64.5% to 63.6% advantage, but the Gusties were able to build and maintain their lead on the strength of a 16-4 rebounding advantage. Gustavus’ strength on the boards during the first 20 minutes, which included a 7-0 advantage on the offensive end, translated into an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points. During a ten-minute stretch midway through the first half, the teams combined to hit 17 of 23 shots from the field, including seven in a row at one point.
Jay Stien (Sr., Arlington, Minn./Sibley East) came out on fire to start the second half, scoring the first eight Gustavus points of the half on three jumpers and a pair of free throws to put the Gusties up 54-40 with 17:26 remaining in the game. Luke Linz sank the second of two free throws to make the score 54-41, but Phil Sowden (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center) answered with a jumper from along the key to restore the lead to 15 points.
A layup by Lenz momentarily brought the lead back to 13 at 56-43 with 15:25 to play, but the Gusties went on a 20-5 run over the next ten minutes to extend their lead to 28 points (76-48) with 5:23 to play. Concordia scored nine of the game’s last 13 points, but the game was well out of reach.
Gustavus finished the game hitting 61.5% (32-52) of its shots from the field, while Concordia’s hot streak cooled a bit in the second half with their shooting percentage dipping to 52.2% (24-46) overall. The Gusties also finished the game with a 30-15 rebounding advantage.
Luke Linz led the Cobbers with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while James Baldwin hit six of eight shots from the field for 12 points. Doble finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting to lead Gustavus, while Jay Stien and Trevor Wittwer (Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley) each chipped in with 12 points apiece. Stien and Wittwer also finished as the game’s top two rebounders with eight and seven, respectively. Sowden added 11 points and a game-high five assists, moving into 19th place on Gustavus’ career scoring list with 1079 points, passing Bill Laumann (1177 points; 1962-66).
Gustavus’ win, combined with Bethel’s 85-76 win over St. Olaf, leaves the Gusties and Royals tied for third place in the MIAC standings at 10-6 with four league games remaining each. The Gusties (12-9, 10-6 MIAC) host league-leader St. Thomas (20-2, 16-1 MIAC) Wednesday at Gus Young Court.