ST. PETER, MINN. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team will host Bethany Lutheran College in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday evening. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on Gus Young Court. Gustavus enters the game with a record of 2-1, while Bethany Lutheran will come to town at 0-2.
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SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Bethany Lutheran was picked to finish fifth in the Upper Midwestern Athletic Conference’s preseason poll. To defeat the Vikings, Gustavus will need to contain junior forwards Nick Sanborn and Troy Spears who are averaging 12 and 11 points per game, respectively. No other player on the Vikings’ roster averages more than 5.5 points per game. In its last contest, Bethany Lutheran fell to Carleton College 69-53 on Wednesday evening in Northfield, Minnesota. The Vikings could not have asked for a better start, scoring the game’s first eight points. However, Carleton would go on a run and take the lead at 15-14 with 9:56 remaining in the first half. The Knights built that lead to 31-23 by halftime and would extend that advantage in the second half on their way to dealing Bethany Lutheran a 16-point setback. When the Gusties and Vikings met last season, the Gusties opened the game on a 17-4 run and would control the remainder of the game to eventually defeat the Vikings 80-63 in Mankato.
SCOUTING THE GUSTIES
To this point, the Gusties have been led by junior forward Brody Ziegler, who is averaging 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Senior guard Isaac Tapp and sophomore center Peter Kruize are right behind him with 11.3 points per game and Chad Poppen averages 9.7 points per game on 44-percent shooting from behind the arc. Despite measuring in at only 6’1, junior guard Gary Cooper has been the Gusties’ most consistent rebounder, averaging 5.7 boards per contest, while senior forward Martin Feddersen has been his usual distributing self, averaging 3.7 assists per game.
THE SERIES
Tonight’s contest marks the ninth meeting between Gustavus and Bethany on the hardwood. The Gusties hold the advantage in the all-time series with a record of 6-2 and have won each of the last four meetings. Gustavus last lost to the Vikings in 2008: a 77-67 loss in Mankato.
LAST TIME OUT
Gustavus heads into tonight’s game after defeating the University of Minnesota, Morris 77-73 on Saturday afternoon at Gus Young Court. The Gusties had a lead of 15 (40-25) in the first half and led by as many as 13 (60-47) with 10:01 remaining in the second, but the Cougars managed to claw their way back into the game and tie things up at 64-64 with 3:22 remaining. However, a 6-0 run put Gustavus back in the driver’s seat and the Gusties managed to hold on for their second victory of the season.
Gustavus got off to a slow start and trailed 8-11 with 13:46 remaining in the first half. But the Gusties kept it close and tied the game at 21-21 with 8:44 remaining in the first. Then, with the game tied at 21-21, Gustavus went on a 19-4 run over the next 7:18, thanks in large part to the play of Brody Ziegler (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) and Chad Poppen (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.) who scored four and five points, respectively during the run. Poppen continued to make key plays for the Gusties throughout the game, and finished with 14 points, tied with Zieger for the team lead.
Following halftime, Gustavus continued to keep the pressure on the Cougars by limiting turnovers and playing strong defense. However, with 10 minutes remaining, the Cougars began to fight their way back into the game, by hitting timely shots, diving on loose balls and taking advantage of Gustie turnovers, and by the 3:22 mark had tied the game at 64-64.
A timely pair of free-throws from senior Isaac Tapp (Stewartville, Minn.), a layup from Martin Feddersen (Sr., Winona, Minn.) and four more vital points from Ziegler put the Gustie lead at 74-69 with :30 seconds remaining. Gustavus was then able to hold on and close the game out, coming away with its second victory of the season.
Gustavus finished the game with a 52.6-percent field-goal percentage (30-57), including a 35.7-percent clip from three-point range. Ziegler and Poppen led the Gustie scoring with 14, with Peter Kruize (So., St. Peter, Minn.) and Tapp chipping in 10 apiece. Gary Cooper (Jr., Detroit, Mich.) pulled down a team high six boards and Feddersen dished out five assists to lead Gustavus.