TACOMA, Wash. – For the second game in a row, the Gustavus men’s basketball team played in a one-possession battle down to the final second and this time ended up on the wrong side of a three-point buzzer beater, losing 64-61 to Pacific Lutheran on Friday. The Gusties drop to 4-7 while the Lutes move to 6-5.
Tied with nine seconds left in the game, the Gusties turned the ball over on a shot clock violation and the Lutes took advantage of the opportunity by scoring the game-winner as time expired.
The game featured 10 lead changes and 11 ties with Gustavus’s largest lead of six points coming at the 8:47 mark of the first as Spencer Swanson (So., Waconia) made a floating jumper in the paint for a 19-13 advantage. The Gusties also had a six-point lead with 3:40 left in the first after Wyatt Olson (So., Saint Peter) made a turnaround jumper for a 27-21 lead. Gustavus held a 33-28 advantage the halftime after Olson scored his 10th point of the first on a step-back jumper with three seconds on the clock.
The Gusties outshot the Lutes by a percentage of 45.2-33.3 in the opening 20 minutes and held the home team to just 2-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.
Pacific Lutheran gained its first lead of the second half at 40-39 with 13:49 on the clock. The lead switched hands five more times until the Lutes made the final lead change on the buzzer beater.
Gustavus shot 41.7 percent and made just 3-of-9 three-pointers. The Lutes edged the Gusties on the boards 37-34. Swanson continued to lead the team with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. Olson contributed 12 points, six rebounds, and a team-high three assists in 23 minutes off the bench.
Gustavus returns to Minnesota and will travel to Bethel next Wednesday night.