SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team will host Macalester on Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. contest. The Gusties enter the contest 5-9 overall and 2-7 in the MIAC while the Scots are 4-11 overall with a 1-9 mark in conference play.
The Series
Tonight’s meeting marks the 161st all-time meeting between the two teams with Gustavus currently holding a 106-54 edge. The two teams met earlier this season on Dec. 5th with the Gusties taking home an 87-50 victory.
Last Time They Met
Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mark Hanson earned his 500th career victory when the Gusties defeated Macalester 87-50. In his 29th season at the helm, Hanson became the 16th active NCAA Division III men’s basketball coach to reach the milestone with a record of 500-267.
Gustavus shot a season-high 59.4 percent from the field, making 38-of-64 shots, including 10-of-22 from beyond the arc. The Gusties had a strong inside game, out-rebounding the Scots 34-25 and outscoring the home team 42-10 in the paint.
Nolan Malo had the best game of his young career, scoring 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field, including three three-pointers. CJ Woda added 14 points and a team-high six rebounds, while Riley Sharbono and Vannis Smith contributed 10 points apiece.
The Gusties made their first three shots of the game and never trailed. With 8:47 left in the first half, Gustavus took a 28-16 lead after three consecutive treys, forcing a Macalester timeout. The Scots fought back with a 16-6 run to make it 34-32 with 2:12 left in the half, but the Gusties extended their lead to 43-37 at the break.
After halftime, the Black and Gold scored the first 10 points of the second half and continued to extend its lead throughout the rest of the contest. The second half defense was strong, allowing just 13 points in the final 20 minutes.
Scouting the Gusties
After a full week without a contest the Gusties come into the tonight’s game most recently falling to Saint John’s last Wednesday 83-54. They are led offensively by the duo of Sharbono and Malo who are averaging 12.9 and 10.5 points respectively. The latter also leads the team in rebounding averaging 5.1 per game. As a team Gustavus is fourth in the conference in three point percentage at 37.8 percent and fifth in assists averaging 14.1 per game.
Scouting the Scots
Macalester is most recently coming off their first conference victory of the season when they defeated Saint Mary’s 75-74 on Saturday. Wyatt Ferm played a huge role in the victory totaling 32 points as well as a the game winning shot with less than one second to play. Ferm, averaging 14.1 points per game leads the Scots along with Jackson Henningfield who averages 17.7 points. Ferm and Henningfield also lead Macalester in rebounding averaging 9.5 and 6.7 respectively. The Scots rank fourth in the MIAC in blocks per game with an average of 3.1.