(Photo courtesy of Caleb Williams, d3photography.com)
NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team was defeated 65-57 at St. Olaf College Saturday afternoon from Skoglund Center as the Oles won the battle on the glass to salvage a series split.
With the loss, the Gustavus record drops to 10-8 overall and 8-5 during Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play, while St. Olaf improves to 13-5 overall and 9-4 within the conference.
The Oles owned a 33-24 rebound advantage over the Gusties, while shooting 20-for-45 from the field and 9-21 from three-point range. Gustavus shot 23-53 from the field and 4-17 from beyond the arc.
St. Olaf leading scorer Austin Korba opened the game with three consecutive three-point field goals as the Oles jumped out to a 9-2 lead. Two free throws gave the home team its largest lead of the half at 30-21 prior to St. Olaf heading into the intermission with a 30-23 lead.
Both teams found more offense in the second half. The Gusties opened the half on a 10-8 run, as a Spencer Tollefson (Jr., New Richland, Minn.) free throw put Gustavus down by five at 38-33 at the 14:34 minute mark. However, St. Olaf answered on a 17-5 run to claim its largest advantage of the game, leading 55-38 with 8:48 remaining in the game.
Gustavus cut into the Ole lead near the end of the game but couldn’t come within seven points, while late free throws sealed the win for St. Olaf.
Riley Sharbono (Jr., Marshall, Minn.) led the way for the Gusties with a season-high 25 points, shooting 10-17 from the field, 2-6 from long-range, and 3-3 from the charity stripe. Jason Faul (Sr., Prior Lake, Minn.) added 10 points and led the team with six rebounds.
Gustavus will take a day of rest tomorrow before returning to action Monday evening, heading to Collegeville, Minn. to face Saint John’s University.