The Gustavus men’s basketball team lost 66-54 to Macalester in St. Paul to fall into a first place tie with Macalester and Carleton at 4-1. The Gusties, who trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half, rallied to within one point at 55-54 with five minutes remaining in the game. The Scots, however, outscored Gustavus 11-0 the rest of the contest to claim the 12-point victory. Gustavus falls to 6-4 overall and 4-1 in the MIAC, while Macalester improves to 5-5 overall and 4-1 in the MIAC.
The Gusties held a 9-8 lead with 16:23 remaining in the first half, however a three-point basket by Macalester’s Chris Assel gave the Scots an 11-9 lead which they would never relinquish. Leading 30-26 with 3:43 left in the half, Macalester used a 6-0 run to claim a 36-26 lead at the intermission.
Gustavus continued to struggle in the second half and trailed by as many as 13 points twice (45-32 and 49-36). The Scots maintained their double digit lead until midway through the second half when the Gusties used a 15-4 run to cut the lead to one at 55-54 with 5:09 remaining. Free throw shooting really hurt the Gusties as they converted only four-of-12 attempts in the game including three front-ends of one-and-the bonus opportunities in the final stages of the game.
Three Gustavus players scored in double figures including Brown with 19, Doug Espenson with 16 and Chris TeBrake with 10. Macalester outrebounded the Gusties 37-29. Gustavus shot 42.3 percent from the field (22-52).
Gustavus returns home to face St. Thomas on Wednesday at 7:30 pm.