The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball fell to Saint John’s 87-65 in a MIAC Playoff semifinal game Wednesday evening at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. Gustavus, which closes its season at 14-13 overall, was led by a game-high 17 points from Andrew Doble (Jr., Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney).
Gustavus held a pair of leads (4-2 and 7-6) in the game’s first four minutes, but relinquished the lead for good when Scott Schafer hit a layup to put Saint John’s up 8-7 with 16:08 to play. Tyler Westman knocked down three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to help push the Johnnie lead to eight points and Brady Brink made it a ten-point lead at 27-17 with a trey with 8:37 to play in the first half. An 8-2 run by the Gusties over the next 3:13 capped by a layup by Doble cut the lead to just four points at 29-25, but Gustavus would get no closer as Saint John’s ended the half on a 17-6 run to take a 46-31 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Johnnies limited the Gusties to just 8-of-25 shooting from the field (32.0%) and held a 22-12 edge in rebounds. Gustavus hit 16 of 19 free throws in the second half (22 of 26 for the game) but was unable to cut into the Saint John’s lead as the Johnnies outscored the Gusties 41-34 to take the 22-point victory.
Saint John’s outshot the Gusties 52.4% (33-63) to 37.4% (20-53) and hit seven of 14 three-pointers. Gustavus knocked down three of seven shots from behind the arc. Brady Brink led the Johnnies with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting off the bench. Craig Schafer also went 6-of-8 from the field and finished with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Ryan Lieser added 13 of his own. Tyler Westman knocked down three treys and a trio of free throws to make it four Johnnies in double-figures with 12 points.
Doble led all players with 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe, while Kane Sivesind (Jr., Madison, Wis./Memorial) added 12 points. Phil Sowden (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center), one of five Gustavus seniors playing their final collegiate game, scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting before fouling out midway through the second half. Andrew Olson (Sr., Owatonna, Minn.) added eight points, while Justin DeGrood (Sr., Faribault, Minn./Bethlehem Academy) scored the Gusties’ last six points of the game to finish with a career-high six points in his final game. Tyler Kramer (Sr. Hayfield, Minn.) and Jay Stien (Sr., Arlington, Minn./Sibley East) each added two in their final games in Gustie uniforms.
Gustavus concludes its season at 14-13 overall, finishing fourth in the MIAC with a 11-9 mark. Saint John’s moves on to face top-seeded St. Thomas in Saturday’s MIAC Playoff Championship game.