ST. PETER, Minn. – A hot start and a 7-0 lead by the Gustavus men’s basketball team Monday night quickly turned the other direction as St. Thomas went on a 14-6 run over the next 2:29 and held on to the advantage the rest of way en route to an 83-65 victory. The loss drops the Gusties to 2-8 overall and 2-3 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while the Tommies improve to 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the league.
St. Thomas proved to be efficient in the front court, shooting 64 percent for the game and 72 percent in the second half.
“The statistic that stands out the most is that we gave up 64 percent shooting,” Head Coach Mark Hanson said. “We caused a few turnovers in the second half, which was good to see, but we had too many of our own.”
Peter Kruize (Sr., St. Peter, Minn.) led the Gusties off the bench with 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor. Riley Sharbono (So., Marshall, Minn.) also reached double figures with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Kruize, Sharbono, and Alec Koster (Sr., Redwood Falls, Minn.) each had four rebounds. St. Thomas had five players in double digits, paced by Ryan Boll with 18 points.
After the Tommies gained a 14-13 lead at the 15:17 mark they continued to increase the spread and took a 44-31 advantage to the locker room at halftime. The Gusties fought back in the second half, cutting the deficit to seven points (50-43) at the 15:36 mark, but the Tommies scored five unanswered and held a double-digit lead the rest of the game, excluding a 17-second span where the difference was eight points.
Gustavus shot a season-high 55.4 percent (31-56) from the floor, including 68 percent (17-25) in the second half. The Tommies out-rebounded the Gusties 26-21 and forced 15 turnovers, compared to committing 11. Neither team found a rhythm behind the arc as both squads went 3-for-11 from three-point range.
Gustavus next hosts Augsburg (5-4, 3-1 MIAC) at 7 p.m. Wednesday.