Men’s Hoops Fends Off Saint Mary’s Comeback, Wins 73-70 Posted on February 2nd, 2022 by

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SAINT PETER, Minn. – Wednesday’s MIAC tilt between Gustavus and Saint Mary’s came down to the wire but the home team was able to hold on to the lead, fending off a late comeback effort for an exciting 73-70 victory. The Gusties improve to 10-7 overall and 7-5 in the MIAC while completing the series sweep over the Cardinals.

“I thought that our effort was outstanding,” Head Coach Mark Hanson said. “The second chance points that they had really hurt us and generally that’s tied to effort but that was not the case tonight. We just gave up too many opportunities for them and too many turnovers so that needs to be shut down.”

A layup by Jordan Schommer (Jr., Merrifield) with 6:55 left in the game gave the Gusties a lead (57-56) they would not relinquish. Peter Lundquist (Sr., Rochester) sunk a three with 4:26 on the clock to pad the lead the 66-59, but the Cardinals battled back with a 9-2 run over the next two minutes to make it a one-point game. Kaleb Feahn (Sr., Waseca) answered with a layup to make the score 71-68 and a free throw by Lundquist with 45 second left made it four-point advantage, but once against the Cardinals fought back with a layup to make it a one-possession game.

After a missed three-pointer that would have sealed the game, Saint Mary’s got the ball in the paint and a foul sent Raheem Anthony to the line to shoot two with 1.4 seconds on the clock. Anthony missed both shots from the charity stripe and the Gusties survived the comeback attempt.

The first half saw four lead changes with the Gusties leading by as many as seven points and trailing by as much as six points, but at the end of the first 20 minutes the Gusties carried a 35-34 lead into the locker room thanks to a Spencer Swanson (Fy., Waconia) buzzer beater. Gustavus’s largest lead came in the second half with 12:42 remaining at 51-41, but the Cardinals responded with 12 consecutive points to take the lead and set up an exciting finish.

Feahn led the offense with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including seven rebounds and four assists. Lundquist added 16 points, seven boards, and two blocks, upping his MIAC lead to 26 on the season. The Gusties shot 50 percent and held the Cardinals to 40.3 percent. Gustavus edged the visitors on the boards 32-31.

Gustavus next travels to Augsburg on Monday night.

“We keep the effort that we had tonight and reduce the mistakes, I think it will be a good battle,” Hanson said.

 

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