Men’s Basketball Drops 58-52 Decision to St. Olaf

The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team fell to 13-11 overall and 11-8 in the MIAC with a 58-52 loss to St. Olaf in its regular-season home finale Wednesday at Gus Young Court. The Gusties led 30-21 at halftime but were outshot 51.9% to 33.3% and outrebounded 22-13 by the Oles in the second half. Gustavus’…

Trevor Wittwer dives for the ball.
Trevor Wittwer dives for the ball.

Phil Sowden drives the lane against the Oles.
Phil Sowden drives the lane against the Oles.

Kane Sivesind pushes the ball upcourt, looking to make a pass.
Kane Sivesind pushes the ball upcourt, looking to make a pass.

Mike DesLauriers keeps his eye on the hoop as the moves through the lane.
Mike DesLauriers keeps his eye on the hoop as the moves through the lane.

The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team fell to 13-11 overall and 11-8 in the MIAC with a 58-52 loss to St. Olaf in its regular-season home finale Wednesday at Gus Young Court. The Gusties led 30-21 at halftime but were outshot 51.9% to 33.3% and outrebounded 22-13 by the Oles in the second half. Trevor Wittwer (Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley) led all players with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

The Gusties trailed briefly in the early portion of the first half (3-2 with 17:56 remaining), but rebounded to lead 14-7 on a jumper by Phil Sowden (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center). Wittwer scored five straight points to start the Gusties on a 9-0 run to take a 23-9 lead near the eight-minute mark of the first half. St. Olaf responded with a 12-5 run to cut the lead to 28-21 with 3:47 to play, but Wittwer gave the Gusties a nine-point halftime lead at 30-21 by hitting a jumper with 0:33 left before the break.

St. Olaf opened the second half with a 14-5 run led by six points from Jon Butala and four each from Mitch Haugen and Mark Bergstrom to tie the game at 35-35 at the five-minute mark of the second. Jay Stien (Sr., Arlington, Minn./Sibley East) sank a jumper and a pair of free throws to put the Gusties up by four, but the Oles bounced back with a pair of buckets to lock the game up at 39-39. Gustavus tied the game for the final time with 8:33 to play as Sowden made a layup. Fouled on the play, the Gusties pulled ahead 44-43 as Sowden made the ensuing free throw. St. Olaf responded with a 9-2 run to take a 52-46 lead with just over five minutes to play. The Oles would match the Gusties point-for-point down the stretch to emerge with the 58-52 victory.

Wittwer scored a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds, followed by Sowden with 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting and seven boards. Stien added eight points, Kane Sivesind (Jr., Madison, Wis./Memorial) posted five, Andrew Doble (Jr., Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney) notched four, and Andrew Olson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn.) rounded out the Gusties’ scoring with three points.

Mark Bergstrom led the Oles with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, followed by Jon Bain with 10 points and game-highs with nine rebounds and three assists. Jon Butala narrowly missed double-figures in scoring with nine points, while adding six points and a game-high five steals.

Gustavus, which closes out its regular season Saturday at Carleton, locked up the fourth seed in the MIAC Playoffs and will host a semifinal game Monday evening.

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