Senior Jesse Van Sickle scored 21 points for the second time this season to lead the Gustavus men’s basketball team to a 79-72 victory over Concordia Saturday afternoon in Moorhead, Minn. Van Sickle shot 6-for-8 from the field while going 4-for-6 from behind the arc in the game. Four other Gustavus players scored in double figures as Ryan McPartland had 13 points, Dan Schmidtknect and Tyler Grey both scored 11, while Phil Wirtjes scored 10. Concordia’s Darrin Olmscheid scored a game-high 29 points on 8-for-21 shooting.
Van Sickle (4-6) and McPartland (4-5) combined to shoot 8-for-11 from the field in the first half, as Gustavus led by as much as twelve points with the score 27-15 halfway through the opening half. Van Sickle scored 11 points in the half as McPartland scored 8. Concordia made a 12-2 run three minutes later to bring the score to 29-27 with five minutes left in half. The Cobbers were led by Olmscheid who scored 15 points in the half. A three pointer by Van Sickle gave Gustavus a 40-35 lead at the halftime break.
The Gusties never trailed in the game as they shot a hot 62.5% (10-16) in the second half. Van Sickle and Schmidtknect scored 10 and nine points, respectively, in the half. Concordia went 10-for-31 from the field and 5-for-15 from three point range in the half. Gustavus’s largest lead of the half came at the 10:47 mark with the score 59-47. Solid Gustavus free throw shooting to close the game sealed the seven point victory.
Gustavus finished the game with a 57.4% (27-47) field goal percentage, while shooting 58.3% (7-12) from three point range and out-rebounding the Cobbers 38-28. Concordia shot 41.1% (23-56) from the field and 40% (10-25) from behind the arc. Gustavus improves to 12-5 overall and 10-2 in the MIAC, while Concordia drops to 8-9 overall and 4-8 in the MIAC.
Gustavus will travel to Winona, Minn. to take on Saint Mary’s on Wednesday Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m.