MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team got off to a quick start Saturday at Augsburg College with a 9-2 lead after the first three minutes of play, but the Auggies responded with a 14-2 run to take a lead they would not let go of the rest of the way resulting in a 79-70 final score. The loss is the first in MIAC play by the Gusties as they fall to 1-1 in the league and 3-2 overall.
Gustavus’s hot start was sparked by consecutive three-pointers by Chad Poppen (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.) and Chris Narum (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) in the first two trips down the court. A layup by Narum put the Gusties ahead 9-2 at the 17:15 mark, but that’s when the momentum shifted in favor of Augsburg as it made six of its next seven shots from the field for a 16-11 lead after seven minutes of play.
Narum sunk a three-point shot with 10:29 on the clock to cut the deficit to two points at 17-15, but the Auggies responded with a 9-2 run to gain a nine-point advantage with 7:44 to go. Once again, the Gusties battled back and came within three points at 30-27 after a layup by Brody Ziegler (Sr., Mankato, Minn.), but the Auggies fired back by outscoring the Gusties 9-1 in the final 4:31 of the first.
The Gusties trailed 39-28 at the half after shooting 37 percent (10-27) from the floor compared to a 65.4 percent clip (17-26) by Augsburg.
Gustavus came out of the break with a renewed energy and chipped away at the double-digit deficit, coming all the way back to within two points at 48-46 nearly eight minutes into the second half. The Auggies held on to a slim advantage over the ensuing five minutes, leading 54-52 with seven minutes to play, but from that point on it was all Augsburg as it went on a 10-2 run and never looked back.
Gustavus shot 16-for-36 (44.4 percent) in the second half and 41.3 percent (26-63) in the game, and went 11-for-30 from beyond the arc. Rebounding was close as the Auggies edged out the Gusties 35-33. A difference in the game proved to be points in the paint as Augsburg outscored Gustavus 39-26. The Auggies also took advantage of their trips to the free throw line, making 17-of-26.
Narum led the way for the Gustie offense with a career-high 20 points, shooting 7-of-14 from the field, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. Riley Sharbono (Fy., Marshall, Minn.) and Sergio Najera (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) also reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Najera led the Gusties down low with nine rebounds and three blocks.
Gustavus returns to action next Wednesday at Bethel University for a 7 p.m. tipoff.