Gary Cooper scored a game-high 20 points in the Gusties regular season finale on Saturday.
COLLEGEVILLE, MINN – With a playoff berth already secure, the Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team went into its final regular season game of the season with Saint John’s University playing for seeding purposes. With their 50-47 loss to the Johnnies, Gustavus fell to the sixth seed, meaning it will travel back to Collegeview for a rematch with the Johnnies on Wednesday in the MIAC quarterfinals. The loss brings the Gusties’ final regular season MIAC record to 11-9 and 15-10 overall, while Saint John’s improves to 14-6 in the conference and 16-9 overall.
Defense for both squads ruled throughout, as each team shot an identical 37.7 percent from the floor. That percentage was the second lowest of the season for Gustavus. The Gusties also went 0-for-7 from three-point range and failed to score a point on its 10 offensive rebounds, while Saint John’s missed 11 shots in the paint.
Neither team led by more than five points for the entire first half. Gary Cooper (Jr., Detroit Mich.) had a hot start for the Gusties, scoring the team’s first six points and also scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. However, with the rest of the team shooting only 30 percent (12-for-40), Gustavus was never able to pull away from the Johnnies and were tied 23-23 at halftime.
Following the half, Gustavus jumped out to a four point lead by the 13:35 mark in the second half, but the Johnnies recovered and went on a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 45-39 lead with 9:33 remaining on the clock. Saint John’s took its largest lead of the game with 6:50 to go when it led 48-41. But the Johnnies failed to score a field goal from that point on to allow Gustavus to creep back to within one (48-47) with 1:33 to play.
However, Gustavus failed to get off a shot in the game’s final minute and half, while Saint John’s got two free-throws from junior guard Alex Schmitt to seal the Johnnie’s three-point victory.
Gustavus will attempt to win its second MIAC quarterfinal game with the Johnnies in a row, as the Gusties defeated Saint John’s 65-64 in last season’s playoffs. Wednesday’s rematch with Saint John’s will again take place at Sexson Arena with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
Saint John’s 50, Gustavus 47 (Box Score)