St. Peter, Minn. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team will begin its 2014-15 season when it travels southward to take on two teams from the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. On Saturday, the Gusties will battle Simpson College in a 7 p.m. matchup in Indianola, Iowa and Sunday the Gusties will take on Buena Vista University at 2 p.m. in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Live Coverage
Saturday vs. Simpson: Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio | Listen on 95.5 FM
Sunday vs. Buena Vista: Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio | Listen on 860 AM
2013-14
After winning four out of its last five games to close the regular season, Gustavus tied for fourth place in the MIAC with Saint John’s University and earned the No. 5 seed in the MIAC Playoffs. In their first round game, the Gusties took on Saint John’s, a team they split their season series with. Gustavus made the most of its opportunity and shocked the Johnnies in their home gym by taking home a narrow 65-64 victory to gain entry into the playoff’s semifinals. There, Gustavus took on No. 2 seed St. Olaf College and played the Oles tough for a majority of the game. However, after tying the game at 38 with 12:20 remaining in the second half, St. Olaf made a 10-0 run that would doom the Gusties. St. Olaf would never lead by less than seven for the remainder of the game and the Oles eventually took home a 66-53 victory to end the Gusties’ season.
Guard Jordan Dick ’14 and forward Brody Ziegler (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) were both honored as members of the All-Conference Team following the season. Dick, who is now graduated, started all 27 games for Gustavus and led the team in minutes per game (31.3), three-point field goal percentage (.454, 54-119) and points per game (11.6). Ziegler also started in all 27 games and finished third on the team in scoring with 289 points for an average of 10.7 points points per game. He also brought down a team-best 148 rebounds for an average of 5.5 rebounds per game. Senior Martin Fedderson (Winona, Minn.) was named to the All-MIAC Honorable Mention squad after leading the team and ranking third in the MIAC with a 61.5-percent field goal percentage. Fedderson also led the team and ranked second in the league with 109 assists on the season.
The Roster
Coach Mark Hanson’s squad will return three of its five starters from last season’s squad, including Ziegler, Fedderson and Coleman Sweeney (So., Lake City, Minn.), and almost every key reserve as well, including Gary Cooper (Jr., Detroit, Mich.), Chad Poppen (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.), Peter Kruize (So., St. Peter, Minn.), Sergio Najera (Jr., New Prague, Minn.) and Chris Narum (Jr., Eagan, Minn.). The Gusties will also welcome back guard Isaac Tapp (Sr., Stewartville, Minn.) who missed much of the 2013-14 season, along with the additions of freshman guard Jacob Herd (Waconia, Minn.) and sophomore guards Alec Koster (Redwood Falls, Minn.) and Jake Weber (Dubuque, Iowa).
By The Numbers
30: Consecutive seasons that Gustavus has finished with double-digit victories in the MIAC. In those 30 seasons, the Gusties have won the MIAC Championship eight times.
9: The number of Gustavus returners who averaged more than 12 minutes per game last season.
69: Percent of Gustavus’s scoring that returns from last season.
Did You Know?
On Nov. 2, two former Gustavus men’s basketball players were inducted into the Gustavus Athletics Hall of Fame. Luke Schmidt was a three-time all-conference performer who also earned all-region honors in 1997 and 1998, and ranks fifth all-time in scoring at Gustavus with 1,607 points. Bob Southworth was a three-year starter and two-time all-conference selection on Gustavus teams that won MIAC championships in 1996 and 1997 and made NCAA tournament appearances in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999.
Gustavus Links
Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2013-14 Statistics