St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball will look to continue its strong start tonight at Gus Young Court when Augsburg College comes to town. The Gusties enter tonight’s contest with a record of 5-1 (2-0 MIAC) after a 78-64 win over Concordia on Saturday afternoon in St. Peter. The Auggies come in with a record of 4-1 (1-1 MIAC) following a 71-66 win over St. Olaf on Saturday in Minneapolis. Tonight’s opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m.
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Game Notes
Series Snapshot… Wednesday’s contest marks the 172nd meeting between Gustavus and Augsburg in men’s basketball. The Gusties hold the upper hand in the all-time series with a record of 104-67. Gustavus has won six of the last 10 meetings between the two squads, including a split in last season’s regular season series. The Auggies took the first meeting last season by the final score of 81-73 in St. Peter before the Gusties won the second 70-59 in Minneapolis.
Last Time Out… Gustavus is most recently coming off a 78-64 win over Concordia on Saturday. The Gusties jumped out to a 14-point lead (24-10) midway through the first half thanks in large part to a 16-3 run that was bookended by scores from Jordan Dick. Gustavus would lead by as many 19 points in the half, but would see itself to a 15-point advantage (42-27) at the break.
The Gusties shot a blistering 73.9 percent (17-23) from the floor in the opening frame, the highest shooting percentage in a half by a Gustavus team since Jan. 6th, 2010 when the Gusties shot 83.3 percent (15-18) in the second half of a 69-56 win over St. Olaf.
The Cobbers were able to cut the lead to single digits twice in the second half, but it would be all the closer they would come as the Gusties closed the game with a 5-0 run that would push the final margin to 14-points in favor of the Black and Gold.
For the game, Gustavus shot 64.4 percent (29-45) from the field and dominated the glass. The Gusties outrebounded Concordia 34-15, but committed 15 turnovers compared to 13 for Concordia.
Four Gustavus players scored in double-figures, led by Brody Ziegler with 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting. Ziegler also went 6 of 9 from the free throw line and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Jordan Dick followed with 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor, including a pair of threes and chipped in six boards, four of which were offensive. Isaac Tapp and Brian Jacobs rounded out the four players in double-figures with 14 points apiece. Tapp went 5 for 8 from the floor and 4 for 4 from the free throw line, while Jacobs went a perfect 5 for 5 from the field and was also 4 for 4 from the charity stripe.
Gusties Take To Hardwood For 105th Season… The 2013-14 season represents the 105th season of men’s basketball at Gustavus. Founded in 1904, the men’s basketball program has mounted an overall record of 1382-956, and a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) mark of 911-552. Since the inception of the MIAC, the Gusties have amassed at least a share of 17 conference titles, the second most in league history. The program has made 22 MIAC Playoff appearances, and also has participated in the NCAA Tournament 13 times, most recently in the 2011-12 season, which was also Gustavus’s last MIAC title.
Follow The Gusties On KNUJ… KNUJ AM 860 out of New Ulm, Minnesota will once again broadcast all twenty-five Gustavus regular season men’s basketball games. The voice of the Golden Gusties Tom Wheeler will handle the play-by-play duties for the eighth consecutive season. Fans can listen to the KNUJ broadcasts on KNUJ Radio AM 860 and KRDS 95.5 or on the Internet through the Gustavus Athletics website. In addition, Gustavus will once again video stream all home games for viewing on your computer and portable internet device through GameCentral by Stretch Internet. GameCentral is available at: http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/gac.portal#.
Meet The Gustavus Coaching Staff… Head coach Mark Hanson begins his 24th season at the helm of the Gustavus men’s basketball program. During his tenure, Hanson has directed the team to seven MIAC championships, 20 MIAC Playoff appearances, and 11 NCAA Division III National Tournament appearances, including reaching the Final Four for the first time in school history and placing second in the nation during the 2002-03 season. With 438 career wins, Hanson is the all-time winningest coach in Gustavus men’s basketball history. His .690 winning percentage ranks sixth on the all-time list.
Assistant coach Justin DeGrood begins his first season as the lead assistant for the Gustie men’s basketball team. Primarily working with the defense, DeGrood returns to Gustavus after serving as an assistant coach at Bethel from 2010 to 2013. A 2007 Gustavus graduate, DeGrood played for Head Coach Mark Hanson during his tenure on the hill. After graduation, Justin made his way to the east coast, where he worked for Jostens and volunteered as both a high school and college coach in Boston, Mass.
Primarily dealing with game preparation and recruting, Jeff Fish begins his fifth season as an assistant coach for the Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team. Prior to joining the Gustavus staff, Fish was an assistant coach for Bethany Lutheran College from 2007-2009.
Captains Log: 2013-14… As is tradition, captains are selected every year to serve as leaders of their team. This year, three players were given the honor of serving as captain. The Gusties named senior Jordan Dick and juniors Martin Feddersen and Isaac Tapp to the position. Tapp and Feddersen are the first juniors to do so in the last five years.
Fountain Of Youth… With just one senior and three juniors who see significant playing time, numerous sophomores and freshmen will be asked to contribute throughout the course of the 2013-14 season. The Gusties return nine letterwinners after losing six from a year ago. However, those six letterwinners lost accounted for over 65 percent of Gustavus’s scoring last year, meaning the Gusties will lean on their youth to produce. Isaac Tapp and Jordan Dick are the two leading scorers of those that return from last season. The duo averaged 7.7 and 7.4 points per game, respectively.
Home Grown… The 2013-14 Gustavus men’s basketball roster features 15 players and all but one are natives of Minnesota. The lone player to hail from outside the Land of 10,000 Lakes is sophomore post Scott Mulder, who comes to St. Peter from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Mulder is one of just eight players to come through the Gustavus men’s basketball program who reside outside the state of Minnesota in the last 15 years.