SAINT PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to St. Olaf in the MIAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday, 73-70. The Gusties end the season at 14-9 overall. Kaleb Feahn (Sr., Waseca) ended the night as the top Gustie scorer with 19 points and Nolan Malo (Sr., Owatonna) recorded 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Oles took an early lead at 8-4 before a Malo layup tied the game at 8-8. Feahn gained the first Gustie lead at 10-8 nearly seven minutes into play. Jake Guse (Jr., Waseca), Feahn, Spencer Swanson (Fy., Waconia), Malo, and Evan Wieker (So., St. Michael) accelerated the Gustie lead to 26-17 before the Oles took a timeout with 10 minutes left in the first half.
The Oles battled back, rattling off four consecutive points and tying it at 30-30 with 5:38 left. Both teams traded two-point leads before the Oles gained an edge in the final three minutes with a 9-4 run to lead 44-40 at halftime.
The Gusties outshot the Oles 52.9-48.6 percent, out-rebounded 18-16, and had four blocks in the first half. Malo paced the Gusties with eight points and five rebounds while Feahn posted seven in the first 20 minutes.
St. Olaf went on a 10-4 run to open up the second half. The Oles maintained the double digit lead for the majority of the second half before Malo and Feahn cut it to a five-point difference with under four minutes left.
A Lundquist free throw brought it to a 73-68 Gustie deficit before Feahn made a three-pointer with blood dripping down his face to cut the Ole lead to two. After a missed Ole shot, the visitors fouled Feahn and attempted to ice him between free throws but Feahn tied the game 73-73 as the clock winded down with 16 seconds left.
With a final opportunity to win the game, an errant inbound pass would cost the Gusties possession of the ball and the Oles made a final buzzer beater shot to win the game.