SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team posted its highest offensive output of the season Monday night in a 93-82 win over Carleton. The Gusties snap a three-game losing streak to improve to 4-8 overall and 4-3 in the MIAC, while the Knights fall to 5-7 overall and 2-5 in the league.
Gustavus shot 52.5 percent from the floor and made a season-high 12 three-pointers. Kaleb Feahn (Jr., Waseca) and Logan Rezac (Jr., Andover) led the charge with 21 points apiece. Feahn was 4-8 from beyond the arc and Rezac added a team-high seven assists.
“I thought we took good shots tonight,” Head Coach Mark Hanson said. “The stat that stands out to me is our shooting percentage as a whole. The shots we took and the shot percentage together really made it tough on Carleton. I felt we turned it over too much, but at least it wasn’t over 20 like it was the other night.”
Carleton started the game with the hot hand, taking a 10-2 advantage in the first 2:32 to force a Gustie timeout. The break worked in the Gusties’ favor as they responded with 15-2 run over the next four minutes, capped by an Isaac Douglas (Jr., Montevideo) fast break three, for a 17-12 lead. The Gusties continued to add to their lead, going ahead by as much as 14 with seven minutes remaining in the half before the Knights finished out the first with four unanswered points to make the score 44-36 at halftime.
Carleton got its momentum rolling to start the second frame with a 16-6 run in the first five minutes to gain a 52-50 lead. The teams traded buckets for the following seven minutes leading to a 64-64 score with 8:35 on the clock before the Gusties went on a tear with 11 unanswered points, capped by a Rezac trey with 6:31 remaining. Gustavus was able to hold on to the lead the rest of the way to secure an 11-point victory.
“Losing the lead and making shots to get back on top I think was important for our soul,” Hanson said.
CJ Woda (Jr., Maple Grove), who made his first start of the season, and Douglas led the Gusties on the boards with six rebounds apiece. Jake Guse (So., Waseca) continued to add to his MIAC-leading block total with three tonight and now has 30 on the season.
Gustavus is at Saint Mary’s for a 7 p.m. MIAC contest Wednesday.