Gustavus 55, SUNY Oneonta 48 (Box)
TRUJILLO ALTO, P.R. – The Gustavus Adolphus College men’s basketball team was able to snap its four-game losing streak and enter 2016 on a high note, as it defeated SUNY Oneonta 55-48 in its final game of the Puerto Rico Clasico on Tuesday afternoon at Coliseo Ruben Zayas Montanez. The win brings the Gusties to 4-5 overall, while the Red Dragons fall to 6-4.
Senior Chris Narum (Eagan, Minn.) starred offensively for Gustavus, as he was the only Gustie to reach double digit scoring figures with 17 on 7-of-10 shooting, including going 2-for-4 from long range and 7-of-10 from the charity stripe. Sergio Najera (Sr., New Prague, Minn.) chipped in nine points and six rebounds off the bench, and Schuyler Thompson (So., Millville, Minn.) made his first career start and notched four points and three rebounds in 19 minutes.
Lawrence Coleman led the Red Dragons in points and rebounds with 15 and five, respectively. Mikey McElroy notched seven points and three rebounds, while Jack Dignan tallied five points, five assists, and three rebounds.
The Gusties rushed out to an early double digit advantage, leading 12-2 just 2:53 into the contest. The Black and Gold doubled that margin and led 33-13 with 1:11 remaining in the first half and took a 33-15 advantage into the intermission. Gustavus kept its foot on the gas pedal for the first half of the second period, and led by 21 (46-25) with 10:51 to play.
However, the Red Dragons did not let up and went on a 21-4 run over the next 8:38 to cut the deficit to 50-46 with 2:13 to play. From that point, no scoring occurred until the clock showed 43 seconds when Narum hit two free-throws as a result of a Dignan technical foul. A layup by Coleman cut the Gustie lead back to four, but Narum hit 3-of-4 free-throws down the stretch to seal his team’s seven-point victory.
Rebounding was key for Gustavus, as it pulled down 36 boards compared to 20 for SUNY Oneonta. Eighteen of the Gusties’ 36 rebounds were offensive, which led to a 17-2 advantage in second chance points.
Gustavus returns to conference action this Saturday when it takes on Concordia College in a 1 p.m. contest at Gus Young Court.