ST. PAUL, MINN. – After suffering two straight road losses, the Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team was able to end its three-game road stand with a 63-51 victory over Hamline University on Saturday afternoon at Hutton Arena. The win bumps the Gusties to a 7-5 record in MIAC play and 11-6 overall, while Hamline falls to 4-9 in the conference and 7-11 overall.
Gustavus got off to a slow start against the Pipers and trailed for the first 7:58. However, the Pipers’ lead only got to four during that time, and with 11:14 remaining in the first half, a Gary Cooper (Jr., Detroit, Mich.) jumper gave the Gusties a 16-15 advantage and Gustavus never fell behind again. The Gusties continued to build their lead and over the first half’s final 8:04, went on a 17-5 run that would give the visitors a 38-25 lead going into the half.
In the second half, the Gustavus lead would never dip below eight, and with 15:35 to play, experienced its largest lead, 46-27. Hamline made small 6-0 and 5-0 runs between 9:55-8:30 and 5:28-3:54, respectively, but the Gusties managed to build their lead back to double digits after each to secure the 12-point victory and their first win since Jan. 19 against Macalester.
Ironically, four Gusties scored in double digits for the first time since Dec. 13 in Gustavus’s first game against the Pipers. Saturday, Cooper led the Gusties with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and three rebounds, while Brody Ziegler (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) was next in line with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and seven boards. Chad Poppen (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.) scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half and Sergio Najera (Jr., New Prague, Minn.) tallied 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting, his first double-digit scoring game since Jan. 10 against Saint Mary’s.
Dior Ford and Austin Johnson led the Pipers with 18 and 13 points, on 5-of-12 and 4-8 shooting, respectively. Twelve of Ford’s points came on three-pointers, where he was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Overall, the Gusties shot 51 percent (25-for-49) and out-rebounded Hamline, the MIAC’s second leading rebounding team coming into the game, 28-26.
Gustavus will return to Gus Young Court on Wednesday for a key MIAC matchup against the Knights of Carleton. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Gustavus 63, Hamline 51 (Box Score)