SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team begins MIAC play on Wednesday night when it travels to Hutton Arena in St. Paul to take on Hamline in a 7 p.m. contest. Both the Pipers and Gusties enter the contest at 2-2 overall with no MIAC games played.
Hanson Eyes 500th Win
Gustavus Head Coach Mark Hanson currently holds a 499-265 overall record in 29 seasons at the helm. He is looking to become the 16th active NCAA Division III coach to reach 500 wins and the 47th all time.
The Series
Tonight’s game marks the 179th meeting between Gustavus and Hamline on the hardwood, with the Gusties holding a 106-72 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams most previously met in St. Paul, Minn. Feb. 3, 2018, with HU prevailing with a 85-74 victory.
Scouting the Gusties
The Gusties are most recently coming off a victory of Central College on Saturday by a score of 81-75. The Gusties had four players in double figures in the contest with Peter Lundquist (So., Rochester, Minn.), Nolan Malo (Fy., Owatonna, Minn.), and Riley Sharbono (Sr., Marshall, Minn.) chipping in 13 points while Logan Rezac (So., Andover, Minn.) tallied 12 points. Sharbono leads all Gusties this season leading the team averaging 13.3 points per game, while Malo leads the team averaging 6.3 rebounds per contest.
Scouting the Pipers
The Pipers are coming into the contest of an 80-53 win over North Central (Minn.). The Pipers were led in the contest by Connor Knutson who posted 26 points on nine of 16 shooting. Knutson is Hamline’s leading scorer this season as he averages 18.0 points per contest while the Pipers have three other players averaging double figures. Ethan Scheuring has been a strong inside presence shooting 67.6 percent and averaging 14.8 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game. Isaac Brooks and Jake Larson round out the top four scorers for Hamline averaging 14.3 and 11.5 points per game respectively.