ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team opened a three game home stand Wednesday evening at Gus Young Court, breaking triple digits during its highest offensive output of the season, defeating Macalester College 103-59 for its second consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.
The Gusties, now 12-11 overall and 10-8 during conference action, broke the triple digit scoring mark for the first time since the 2015-16 season while notching the series sweep over the Scots.
Gustavus forced six turnovers through the first four and a half minutes, jumping out to an 11-0 lead and not looking back as they recorded a season-high point total in a half as the scoreboard read 56-13 in the Gusties favor at the intermission.
Riley Sharbono (Jr., Marshall, Minn.) led the Black and Gold in the first 20 minutes with 16 points off 6-9 shooting from the field, including a 4-7 mark from long-range. Gustavus shot 61.1 percent (22-36), forced 17 Macalester turnovers, and out-rebounded the visitors 22-12 in the first half.
Two free throws from Kelsey Thomas (Sr., Wiesbaden, Germany) gave Gustavus its largest lead of the game at 64-15 minutes into the second half. From then on, the Scots outscored the Gusties 44-39 despite Gustavus holding at least a 38-point lead throughout the half, as they relied on the majority of its production from the bench with the big lead.
The Gusties shot 55.1 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc while recording a season-high 38 field goals and 14 three-point field goals. The home team also held a 46-22 advantage in points in the paint and scored 32 points off of Macalester turnovers.
“We shot well and created a good number of turnovers,” said Head Coach Mark Hanson. “That helps your percentage and makes some of the other shots more comfortable. Three-point shooting has not been one of our strengths this year, but we have shot pretty well the last three or four games so hopefully that is something we can carry through for the next couple and try to earn our way into more games.”
Sharbono led Gustavus with 21 points off 8-13 shooting, while Thomas added 16 and Zach Bloemker (Fy., Marshall, Minn.) tallied 12. The Gusties had 12 players see time off the bench, combining for 50 points.
Next up, Gustavus hosts Bethel University Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at Gus Young Court.