Brian Jacobs goes up for a shot against Bethel. (photo courtesy of Bethel Sports Information)
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Despite holding a lead for most of the first half and early in the second, the Gustavus men’s basketball team lost 82-73 at Bethel University on Wednesday night. With the loss, the Gusties fall to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the MIAC, while the Royals remain unbeaten at 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the league.
Chris Narum scores two of his nine points against Bethel. (courtesy of Bethel Sports Information)
Much like their quick start at Augsburg last Saturday, the Gusties got out to an early lead over Bethel at 7-2 in the first three minutes of play. The Royals responded with five unanswered points to tie the game, but Gustavus regained the advantage and held a one-to-five-point lead for the ensuing four minutes. Bethel brought the game to one point at 19-18 with 10:41 remaining in the half, but the Gusties then went on an 11-4 run to take their largest lead of the game at 30-22 at the 5:34 mark. The Black and Gold led by six points with 2:24 to play until Bethel closed out the half with eight unanswered points for a 36-34 advantage at halftime.
Bethel scored the first basket of the second half before Gustavus went on an 8-4 run to regain a four-point lead. That lead slowly faded away, though, as Bethel responded with nine unanswered points over a 2:30 span to take the final lead change of the night. The Gusties erased a seven-point (56-49) deficit and tied the game at the 10:26 mark with seven unanswered points, but the Royals jump back in front with a three-pointer on their next trip down the court and the Gusties never recovered.
Brody Ziegler (Sr., Mankato, Minn.) led the Gusties with a double-double, scoring a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds. Sergio Najera (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) and Chad Poppen (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.) also cracked double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. As a team, the Gusties shot 43.9 percent from the floor (29-66), while the Royals shot 49.1 percent (28-57). Gustavus out-rebounded Bethel 41-33, but committed more turnovers at 10-7. The Gusties were also outscored in the paint 38-28.
Gustavus next travels to Macalester College for a 7:45 p.m. game Friday. The Scots (2-6, 0-3 MIAC) lost 78-53 to St. Thomas tonight.