St. Paul, Minn. – After taking a six-point lead (34-28) into halftime, the Gustavus men’s basketball team began the second half with a 13-6 run and would not look back on its way to a 74-49 win over Macalester on Monday night. The Gusties would lead by as many as 27 points in the final frame before settling for the 25-point victory. The Gustie men forced 20 Scot turnovers, 11 of which came in the second half, compared to just seven of their own. Gustavus cashed in on those takeaways to hold a 30-7 advantage in the points off turnovers category. With the win, Gustavus improves to 12-9 (10-7 MIAC). Meanwhile, Macalester drops to 4-17 (1-15 MIAC).
Macalester bolted out of the gate with the first seven points of the game. Gustavus did not score for the first four minutes of the game until Ben Biewen (Sr., Edina, Minn.) converted a steal into points with a fast break layup to break the seal on the basket. Steals on the next two possessions led to four more unanswered points for the Gusties, capped off by a two-handed dunk by Brian Jacobs (So., Lake Crystal, Minn.). From there, Gustavus would lead by as many as eight points before taking a six-point lead into halftime with a score of 34-28.
After giving up the first basket of the second half, the Gusties rattled off a 13-4 run that extended the Gustavus lead to 13 points by the score of 47-34. The Gustie men went on to outscore the Scots 25-11 over the last 10 minutes of play and would lead by as many as 27 points before settling in for the 25-point victory.
Gustavus shot 55.2-percent (32-58) from the floor and 45.5-percent (5-11) from three-point range compared to a 41.5-percent (17-41) mark from the field and 40-percent (6-15) from behind the arc. The Gusties also forced 20 Scot turnovers compared to just seven of their own. In turn, Gustavus capitalized on those turnovers as they held a 30-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Blake Shay (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) led the Gusties in scoring for the third straight game. The senior came off the bench to score 16 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field. He also ripped down six rebounds and dished out three assists. Ben Biewen and Jim Hill (Sr., Edina, Minn.) came next with 14 points each. Biewen made 5-of-8 field goals and also tallied four assists, three rebounds, and three steals while Hill went 7-for-10 from the field.
Macalester was led by Dylan Kilgour and Justin Wasik with 11 points each.
The Gusties will be back in action again on Wednesday night when they host MIAC league-leading St. Thomas at Gus Young Court. Opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m.