ST. PETER, MINN. – The Gustavus Adolphus men’s basketball team will play its final game in the year 2014 on Saturday when it hosts Hamline University. Tip-off will take place on Gus Young Court at 3 p.m. Gustavus will enter the contest with a record of 2-0 in the MIAC and 6-1 overall, while Hamline comes to town at 1-2 in the MIAC and 4-3 overall.
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SCOUTING THE PIPERS
The Pipers are led by a pair of seniors in forwards Dior Ford and Austin Johnson. Ford leads the team in scoring with 13 points per game and has added four rebounds per game as well. Johnson is second on the team in scoring with 11.6 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with 6.7 per game. The Pipers play 10 men regularly, with their starting five and their top five off the bench all contributing at least 11.3 minutes per game. The Gusties and Pipers have only one mutual opponent so far this season in the University of Northwestern. Hamline defeated Northwestern on Nov. 15 by a score of 79-59, while Gustavus took down the Eagles 77-67 this past Saturday.
THE SERIES
Saturday’s contest marks the 173rd meeting between Gustavus and Hamline in men’s basketball. The Gusties hold the upper hand in the all-time series with a record of 102-70. Gustavus has controlled the series in recent years, winning each of the last five contests, including a season sweep of the Pipers in 2013-14. Under head coach Mark Hanson, the Gusties are 37-10 against the Pipers.
LAST TIME OUT
Gustavus heads into today’s game coming off a 63-57 victory over Carleton College on Wednesday evening in Northfield, Minnesota. Gustavus jumped out to an 11-0 lead to begin the game, but Carleton managed to chip away throughout the first half, highlighted by a 14-6 run in the last 10:07 to give the Knights a 29-27 lead at halftime. Following halftime, Carleton maintained its small lead, but Gustavus managed to keep the game close. The Knights’ lead didn’t climb above three, and with 8:33 remaining in the game, the Gusties retook the lead for good on a layup from Isaac Tapp (Sr., Stewartville, Minn.).
Hamline is most recently coming off a 55-50 loss to Bethel University in St. Paul. Hamline led 49-48 with 1:53 remaining in the game, but the Royals scored six straight points to close things out and take away the five point win. Defense was key for both teams as each team shot an identical 38.5-percent from the floor.
HOT STREAKS
On Saturday, Gustavus will try to equal its hot start from one year ago. The 2013-14 Gusties were 7-1 headed into the final day of 2013, but fell to UW-LaCrosse 78-53 on Dec. 31.
A BALANCING ACT
Despite not having a player in the top 15 in scoring or top 10 in rebounding, Gustavus has still raced out to a 6-1 start, and is one of three MIAC teams that remains undefeated in conference play. Gustavus’s leading scorer, Sergio Najera (Jr., New Prague, Minn.) (11.4 ppg) ranks 18th in the MIAC in scoring, while Martin Feddersen (Sr., Winona, Minn.) and Brody Ziegler (Jr., Mankato, Minn.) are tied for 15th in the conference with 5.14 rebounds per game.
UP NEXT
Gustavus will wait a full three weeks before playing its next game on Saturday, Jan. 3 when they will travel to Northfield, Minnesota to take on St. Olaf College. Tip-off for that game will be at 3 p.m. at Skoglund Center.