The Gustavus men’s basketball team had it’s five game winning streak come to an end as the Gusties suffered a 80-73 loss to Hawaii Pacific University on Monday night in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hawaii Pacific’s Mike Helton scored a game-high 29 points, while shooting 12-15 from the field and 5-7 from behind the three point line. Sam Paulson was the leading scorer for the Gusties with 15 points, shooting 50% (4-8) from the field. Hawaii Pacific moves to 7-3 overall as Gustavus falls to 6-3 overall.
Gustavus grabbed the advantage early and built an 11-point lead with 9:48 remaining in the half on a jumper by Seth Anderson. The Sea Warriors would chip away and cut the lead to 40-37 heading into halftime. Hawaii Pacific outshot Gustavus 51.7% (15-29) to 42.4% (14-33) from the field in the half. Sea Warriors Mike Helton and Norman Wells were the leading scorers in the half with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Gustavus’s Jesse Van Sickle shot 3-5 from the field for a total of nine points in the half.
A layup by Wells at the 14:25 mark of the second half gave the Sea Warriors a 47-46 lead and would prove to be the last lead change of the game. Cold second half shooting plagued the Gusties as Hawaii Pacific built a ten point lead with 5:16 remaining in the game. Wells hit three of four free throws with under one minute to play to secure a seven point victory for the Sea Warriors. Gustavus shot 33.3% (12-36) from the field in the second half, as Hawaii Pacific shot 55.2% (16-29).
The Sea Warriors outshot the Gusties 53.4% (31-58) to 37.7% (26-69) in the game. Leading scorers for the Sea Warriors included Helton (29), Wells (19), Ray Murdock (11), and C. J. Jackson (11). Wells, Jackson, and Murdock each registered double-doubles. Wells and Jackson secured 10 rebounds each, while Murdock tallied 11 assists. Leading scorers for Gustavus were Paulson (15), Van Sickle (13), Ryan McPartland (10), and Seth Anderson (10). The Gusties shot a cold 4-26 from three point range in the game, as Hawaii Pacific went 7-19.
The Gustavus men’s basketball team will conclude it’s Hawaii trip with a game against the University of Hawaii-Hilo on Dec. 30, at 7:30pm HAST.