Chad Poppen led Gustavus in scoring with 14, including going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in a 70-61 win over Macalester.
ST. PAUL, MINN. – Following a 1-3 stretch to begin the month of February, the Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team has turned its fortune around of late, winning three straight games and its latest result being a 70-61 victory over Macalester College on Wednesday evening at Leonard Center. The win clinched the Gusties a spot in the MIAC Playoffs that begin next Wednesday, and improves their record to 11-8 in the MIAC and 15-9 overall.
For the game’s first 12 minutes, the score remained tight, with Macalester holding the lead for a majority of the first five minutes and Gustavus taking control for the next seven. But with 7:59 remaining in the first half, the score was knotted at 19-19, the fourth tie of the game to that point.
It was then that the Gusties went on a 17-3 run to close the half and take a 14-point (36-22) lead into halftime. The run was highlighted by three three-point plays: a three-pointer by Chris Narum (Jr., Eagan, Minn.) and an and-one apiece from sophomores Coleman Sweeney (Lake City, Minn.) and Peter Kruize (St. Peter, Minn.).
Following the break, Gustavus kept hold of its comfortable lead and held a 49-31 advantage with 12:29 to play. However, the Scots proved to have some life left in them and went on an 8-0 run to bring the Gustie lead to just 10 with 8:49 to play.
Gustavus maintained its composure though and went on an 8-0 run of its own over the next 3:33 to retake its 18-point lead and held a seemingly comfortable 59-41 lead with just 4:43 left on the clock.
But the Scots proved they had one more run in them and charged to a 15-2 run over the next 3:51 to cut the Gustie lead to five (61-56) with 52 seconds left on the clock. Macalester’s Dylan Kilgour scored eight of those 15 points.
However, five would be the closest the Scots would come, as Gustavus made 9-of-10 free-throws in the last 46 seconds, including six from Chad Poppen (Jr., St. Peter, Minn.) to seal its third straight victory and a spot in this season’s conference playoffs.
Thanks mainly to his clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch, Poppen led the Gusties in scoring with 14 by going 4-of-8 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Kruize tallied 13 points and four boards, Gary Cooper (Jr., Detroit, Mich.) scored 12 points and Narum poured in nine, including going 2-of-3 from long range, the Gusties only three-point shots made on the evening. Overall, Gustavus shot 52.1 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Scots 31-25.
Macalester was led by Kilgour who scored 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting and went 4-for-7 from three. Gustavus did manage to hold Scot leading scorer Kareem Ismail to 12 points and just 3-of-10 shooting.
The Gusties will round out their regular season on Saturday when they travel to Collegeville, Minnesota for a 3 p.m. game with Saint John’s University.
Gustavus 70, Macalester 61 (Box Score)