The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team fell to 13-10 overall and 11-7 in the MIAC following a 79-78 loss at Hamline Saturday afternoon. The Gusties were led by 20 points from Phil Sowden (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center) on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. Kane Sivesind (Jr., Madison, Wis./Memorial) added 16 points. Jon DeRock led all scorers with 22 points.
Trailing 42-39 at halftime, and by as many as ten points in the second half, the Gusties charged back to tie the game at 78-78 on a pair of free throws by Trevor Wittwer (Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley) with 1:33 remaining. The Pipers took a 79-78 lead after a Sam Wiener made the front end of the double bonus with 39 seconds left in the contest. Wiener missed the second, but got his own rebound to allow Hamline to milk another 35 seconds off the clock.
Gustavus grabbed the defensive rebound off the ensuing possession, but had just 2.9 seconds to go the length of the court. The Gusties were unable to get off a shot as Zev Kujolic knocked the inbounds pass away near half court.
The Gusties outshot the Pipers 52.4% to 49.2% and finished 28-of-31 from the free throw line, but were outrebounded 31-22, including 14-4 on the offensive glass. Gustavus also committed 16 turnovers compared to Hamline’s nine.
In addition to 16 points, Sivesind pulled down a game-high five rebounds. Andrew Olson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn.) and Wittwer each narrowly missed double-figures in scoring with nine points apiece. Olson hit four of five shots from the field, including a three-pointer, while Wittwer scored all nine of his points from the charity stripe (9-10). Olson added a game-high five assists.
Erik Gusaas and Wiener also finished in double-figures for the Pipers. Gusaas was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor and hit four free throws, while Wiener notched 12 points and six steals.
Gustavus plays its final regular season home game Wednesday against St. Olaf (11-13, 8-11 MIAC). A win would assure the Gusties of a home game in the quarterfinal round of the MIAC Playoffs.