ST. PAUL, Minn. – In the waning moments of Friday night’s game at Macalester College, the Gustavus men’s basketball team took its first lead of the second half at 64-63 with 1:08 remaining, but the Scots responded with five unanswered points to claim a 68-63 victory at the Leonard Center. The loss snaps an eight-game win streak against Macalester as the Gusties fall to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the MIAC.
After the two squads traded baskets to open the game tied 4-4, the Scots exploded for a 15-2 run over the next five minutes for a 19-6 lead at the 13:32 mark. Macalester would increase its lead to as much as 18 points at 36-18 with 4:44 left in the first half and went into halftime with a 41-27 advantage.
The Gusties were limited to a shooting percentage of 34.5 (10-29) in the first 20 minutes, while the Scots shot 58.6 percent (17-29), including 6-of-11 three-pointers.
Macalester maintained a double digit lead for the first five minutes of the second half until the Gusties brought the score to 45-36 at the 14:48 mark. The Scots regained a double figure advantage two possessions later and held a 55-45 lead at the 11:35 mark. Gustavus showed signs of life, though, as they rattled off seven unanswered points to come within three points at 55-52. The Gusties continued to battle back and a steal by Brody Ziegler (Sr., Mankato, Minn.) with 1:22 left led to a wide open mid-range jumper from the left elbow by Sergio Najera (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) to give Gustavus a 63-62 lead with just over a minute on the clock. But the Scots went down the court and regained the lead on a backdoor layup from the baseline and held the Gusties scoreless the rest of the way.
Gustavus was led on the offensive side by Ziegler and Chris Narum (Sr., Eagan, Minn.) with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Narum also led the team with six rebounds, four assists and shot 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. AJ Hatchett (So., Powder Springs, Ga.) reached double figures as well with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field.
The Gusties finished the game shooting 43.1 percent (28-58) and hauled in 33 rebounds, while the Scots shot 45.5 percent (25-55) with 33 rebounds as well. All 68 of Macalester’s points came from its starting five, led by Michael Gutierrez with 21 points.
Gustavus now breaks for Christmas vacation and returns to action Dec. 28-29 as it travels to Puerto Rico for a pair of games. The Gusties will face Vassar College and SUNY Oneonta at the Puerto Rico Clasico.