ST. PETER, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team erased a double-digit deficit in the second half Saturday afternoon against Concordia, but was unable to hold on to the lead en route to an 82-74 loss at Gus Young Court. The defeat moves the Gusties to 4-6 overall and 1-4 in the MIAC.
“We battled back a couple times and put ourselves in a position where if we made some stops we could continue the momentum, but Concordia was able to answer with another run,” Head Coach Mark Hanson said. “Offensively we started to force some things and tried to make things happen partly because we weren’t making stops.”
Concordia shot lights-out to start the game, making its first nine shots from the field and led by as much as 10 points in the first five minutes, but the Gusties fought back and brought the score within three points at 24-21 at the 11:38 mark. Over the next seven minutes the Cobbers turned it back on as they went on a 16-5 run and led 44-34 at halftime.
The Cobbers were sufficient from the field in the first 20 minutes, shooting 73.1 percent (19-26), while the Gusties shot 50 percent (12-24).
Concordia led by as many as 10 and as few as six points in the first eight minutes of the second half until the Gusties score eight unanswered points to come within one point at 55-54 midway through the period. The run was sparked by a Brody Ziegler (Sr., Mankato, Minn.) jumper, followed by an Alec Koster (Jr., Redwood Falls, Minn.) three-pointer and another three from Chris Narum (Sr., Eagan, Minn.).
The Cobbers maintained a slim advantage over the next two minutes, but a layup, foul, and a successful and-one opportunity by Chad Poppen (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.) gave Gustavus its first lead of the game at 61-60 with 7:41 to play. The lead was short-lived, though, as Concordia regained the advantage on the ensuing possession and never looked back the rest of the way.
Three Gusties reached double figure scoring – Narum (13), Peter Kruize (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.) (12) and Poppen (11). Kruize and AJ Hatchett (So., Powder Springs, Ga.) led Gustavus with five rebounds each, and Koster distributed a team-high four assists.
Concordia shot 64 percent (32-50) from the floor, while the Gusties shot 44.8 percent (26-58). Concordia’s Jordan Bolger led all scorers with 23 points.
Gustavus returns to MIAC action 7 p.m. Wednesday as it hosts the University of St. Thomas.