SAINT PETER, Minn. – Timely shots and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch resulted in a 92-88 win for the Gustavus men’s basketball team over Augsburg on Sunday afternoon. The Gusties improve to 7-9 overall and 7-4 in the MIAC, while the Auggies fall to 10-4 overall and 6-3 in the league.
“All wins feel good but I guess I would say they feel better against higher quality teams, so that has a certain appeal to it,” Head Coach Mark Hanson said. “This is the type of game we want to be in and playing well, so that’s valuable for us and we have to continue that.”
Tied 83-83 with 2:51 left in the game, the Gusties were able to make three from the charity stripe followed by a clutch three-pointer from Isaac Douglas (Jr., Montevideo) with 1:14 left on the clock to go ahead 89-84. The Gusties made 4-of-6 free throws in the final 21 seconds to put a stamp on the game.
Jake Guse (So., Waseca) scored a season-high 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field. Guse added eight rebounds (four offensive) and two blocks. Nolan Malo (So., Owatonna) also had a strong performance, recording his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds (six offensive).
Gustavus started the game with the hot hand, making three of its first four shots for a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes. The Auggies answered with a 10-3 run to tie the game and eventually took a 13-12 advantage at the 13:48 mark. From that point, there were three lead changes before the Auggies claimed a seven-point lead at 43-36 with 3:39 on the clock. The Gusties fought back to close out the first half on an 8-3 run and went into the break trailing 46-44.
The Gusties start the second half much like the first, scoring seven unanswered points for a 51-46 lead in the first three minutes. A CJ Woda (Jr., Maple Grove) three at the 10:52 mark gave the Gusties their largest lead of the game at 66-55, but the Auggies responded with seven unanswered points to cut the lead to four. Augsburg would tie the score twice at 81 and 83, but the Gusties were able to secure the win down the stretch.
Gustavus shot 48.6 percent from the floor and went 9-for-19 from three-point range. The Gusties controlled the boards, out-rebounding the Auggies 44-33, including 16 offensive rebounds. They also defended well with eight blocks.
“They are a very offensively talented team,” Hanson said of Augsburg. “What was significant was that we out-rebounded them so they weren’t getting many second chances.”
Along with Guse and Malo, Douglas (15), Woda (11), and Logan Rezac (Jr., Andover) (11) scored double figures.
Gustavus next plays at Hamline on Wednesday night.