Gustavus at Hamline
Date: Saturday, Feb. 3
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: St. Paul, Minn. | Hutton Arena
Live Coverage: Stats/Video | Audio (KNUJ, Tom Wheeler)
ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team is set for a fourth consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference road matchup Saturday afternoon, traveling to St. Paul, Minn. to take on Hamline University, in search of a series sweep. The Gusties (10-10, 8-7 MIAC) and the Pipers (9-11, 5-10 MIAC) are set to tipoff at 1 p.m. from Hutton Arena.
The Series
Saturday’s game marks the 180th meeting between Gustavus and Hamline on the hardwood, with the Gusties holding a 107-72 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams previously met at Gus Young Court Dec. 9, with the Gusties prevailing with a 65-59 victory. Trailing by four points at halftime, the Gustavus opened the second half on a 21-8 run and maintained the lead for the rest of the game. The Black and Gold shot 26-for-48 from the field and out-rebounded the Pipers by a margin of 41-22.
Last Time Out
The Gusties suffered a third-straight conference road loss Wednesday evening in Northfield, Minn. Gustavus was outscored 41-28 in the final 20 minutes after a five-point first half deficit, falling 81-63 at Carleton College. Spencer Tollefson (Jr., New Richland, Minn.) tallied a season-high 15 points, while Kelsey Thomas (Sr., Wiesbaden, Germany) added 15 as well to tie for the team-lead. Jason Faul (Sr., Prior Lake, Minn.) followed with 12 points while Thomas and Peter Lundquist (Fy., Rochester, Minn.) each grabbed five rebounds.
Scouting the Pipers
Hamline, along with Gustavus, is currently looking to end a three-game losing skid, most recently being defeated by a score of 80-60 versus Augsburg University on Wednesday evening at Hutton Arena. As a team, the Pipers shoot 46.1 percent from the field while averaging 69.9 points and 31.1 rebounds per game. Senior guard Zach Smith leads the Hamline offense, averaging 14.4 points per game. Smith also ranks third in the MIAC with a 50 percent three-point field goal percentage, going 24-48 from long-range.
Gustavus Notables
- The Gusties matched their win total from last season with the Dec. 6 victory at Augsburg.
- Last Wednesday’s win over St. Thomas snapped a seven-game losing streak versus the Tommies. The last Gustie win over UST was on Dec. 3, 2014 at Gus Young Court.
- Riley Sharbono (Jr., Marshall, Minn.) ranks first in the conference with a 74-for-89 clip from the free throw line.
- Gustavus owns an 8-1 record when Sharbono sinks at least four free throws. Conversely, the Gusties are 2-9 when Sharbono makes less than four chances at the charity stripe.