SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team hosted its home opener on Saturday afternoon against the Macalester Scots where they took an 84-67 win and improve to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the MIAC. Kaleb Feahn (Sr., Waseca) impressed with 29 points in the victory while Jake Guse (Jr., Waseca) had a team high 10 rebounds.
“After seven straight games on the road, it almost felt like another road game,” said Head Coach Mark Hanson. “It was good to be back on our own court and see fans back in the stands.”
The Gusties coasted into the opening half with an 11-0 scoring blitz, before the Scots answered back with a 16-5 run to tie it up with 10 minutes remaining. Tied at 19-19, Spencer Swanson (Fy., Waconia) made a three-pointer to regain the Gustavus drive, and tacked on three more in the 39-32 lead. Evan Wieker (So., St. Michael) led the pack with eight points as Gustavus went 10-14 on free throws and out rebounded the Scots 24-11 before halftime.
Feahn kept the ball rolling in the second half with a jump shot followed by a three pointer, and continued to light up the court in his 25 point second half performance. The Gusties boasted their highest lead of the game two minutes into the second half with a 20 point edge. With eight minutes remaining the Gusties held a 14 point advantage as Macalester called for a timeout. In the final five minutes, Nolan Malo (Sr., Owatonna) held the Scots defensively with two offensive rebounds in one possesion before turning the ball over to Feahn for a three-pointer. Malo, Jordan Schommer (Jr., Merrifield), and Wieker combined for six points while Pete Lundquist (Sr., Rochester) rattled off five more to run away with the 84-67 conference win.
The Gusties went 12-16 on the charity stripe and out-rebounded the Scots 43-22.
“It was one of our better defensive efforts in a game this season,” added Hanson. “Kaleb has the ability to light things up, he made some tough shots tonight and stayed in a rhythm and I think our whole team enjoyed watching those.”
The Gusties continue conference play when they host Augsburg on Wednesday night at 7:00.
“We’ll play our game against Augsburg. They’re one of the toughest conference opponents we’ll face and it’ll be a great opportunity to put things together.”