Seth Anderson Leads Men’s Basketball To 56-51 Upset Win Over #5 St. Thomas Posted on January 14th, 2010 by

Seth Anderson goes up for a layup in Wedensday's 56-51 victory over #5 St. Thomas

Seth Anderson goes up for a layup in Wednesday's 56-51 victory over #5 St. Thomas.

Sophomore Seth Anderson scored 13 points in the the second half to lead the Gustavus men’s basketball team to a 56-51 upset win over #5 St. Thomas Wednesday night in St. Peter, Minn.  Anderson scored eight of the Gusties final 13 points, including 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final five minutes of play.  Gustavus moves into the top spot in the MIAC with an 8-0 record and 10-3 overall, as St Thomas drops to 7-1 in the MIAC and 11-2 overall. Gustavus snapped St. Thomas’s 32-game MIAC win streak that dated back to February of 2008.

The Gusties controlled the opening tip and started the game on a 7-1 run.  A steal and layup by Anderson gave Gustavus a nine point lead with 10:23 remaining in the half. Gustavus shot 7-of-14 from the field at that point as the Tommies were 3-of-8.  A shot clock buzzer beater with eight minutes left in the half gave Gustavus it’s largest lead of the night at 20-10.  A layup by Joe Scott one minute later sparked an 11-0 Tommie scoring run that was capped off by a three-pointer by Alex Healy giving St. Thomas a 21-20 lead .  Ben Biewen answered with three-pointer on the ensuing possession that put Gustavus back in the lead at 23-21 with 3:07 remaining the half.  The two teams went into the locker room at the intermission with the scored tied at 26-26.

The score would remain tight in the early minutes of the second half.  Seth Anderson’s jumper at the 13:02 mark gave the Gusties a 40-34 lead.  St. Thomas struck right back on a three-pointer by Nicolai and a layup by Teddy Archer bringing the Tommies back to within one at 40-39 with just under ten minutes to play.  The Tommies tied the game at 45-45 on a jumper by Sam Eicher.  With the game tied at 51-51, Seth Anderson electrified the boisterous crowd with an acrobatic up-and-under layup to give the Gusties a two-point lead at 53-51 with 1:25 on the clock.  Jesse Van Sickle sealed the victory with a pair of steals on St. Thomas’s ensuing two possessions, and free throws would give the Gusties the five-point, 56-51 win.

The Gustavus student body celebrates the victory by rushing the court after the game

The Gustavus student body celebrates the victory by rushing the court after the game

Gustavus shot 40.8% (20-49) from the field in the game and committed just 11 turnovers compared to 19 for St. Thomas.  The Tommies shot 40.0% (16-40) from the field and 81.3% (13-16) from the charity stripe.  Seth Anderson finished with a game-high 17 points on 5-10 shooting.  Jesse Van Sickle and Phil Wirtjes also contributed nine points each.  Tyler Nicolai led St. Thomas with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting.  The Gusties held the high-powered Tommie offense to 22.2 points below their season scoring average of 73.2 points per game.

The Gusties next game will be against Bethel on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 3:00pm in Arden Hills, Minn.

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