ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Gustavus men's basketball team traveled to Macalester for a midweek MIAC matchup with an undefeated league record, and left St. Paul with a massive comeback victory, 96-86. Macalester led for 34 minutes of the game, but a strong second half from the Gusties propelled them to their fifth conference win, marking the first time since the 2009-10 season the Gusties have started 5-0 in MIAC play.
The two teams exchanged points through the first possessions of the game before Macalester pulled away with four three pointers in a span of three minutes to take an early 14-6 lead. The Gusties returned the favor, though, as
Spencer Swanson,
Adam Biewen, and
Ashton Dingmann each hit consecutive threes, with Biewen adding one more for good measure, to bring the Gusties within one in the first half, 29-28. The Scots distanced themselves once more, ending the half with a 15-6 run, not missing a shot in the last five minutes of play, to lead the Gusties 47-36 at halftime.
The Scots ran up their lead to 15 points to start the second, seemingly counting the Gusties out of the game.
Enter
Spencer Swanson.
Swanson ignited the Gustie comeback effort, putting up a layup and contributing a series of key defensive stops to bring the Macalester advantage into single digits. Gustavus went on a 9-0 run to get back into the game, getting four points from Swanson, three from Dingmann, and a layup from
Dawson Kellen to put the Macalester lead in reach, 59-57. Dingmann evened the score at 64-64 with his third three pointer of the night, while two more from long range — one from Swanson and the other out of the hands of
Brady Kienitz — gave Gustavus its first lead of the game, 72-70. Both teams went back-and-forth for the next four minutes, but a clutch steal from
Adam Biewen gave the Gusties the momentum they needed to close it out. Shooting 11-for-15 from the free throw line in the game's final minutes, the Gusties built their lead to 10 over the Scots, finishing with a final of 96-86 from St. Paul.
Gustavus shot 57 percent from the floor overall, including a season high 74 percent in the second half to outscore the Scots 60-39. The team hit a season-high 11 three pointers and made 21 of 28 free throws on the night. Macalester shot 54 percent from the field, making 16 of 33 attempted three pointers, and shooting 4-for-4 on free throws. The Gusties narrowly won the rebounding battle, with 31 to the Scots' 28. The Gusties forced 12 turnovers in the game and committed only six.
Spencer Swanson led the Gustie scoring effort, with a season-best 28 on 11-for-18 shooting. Four other Gusties put up double digits, as
Evan Wieker totaled 15 and Dingmann added 14. Biewen finished with 12 points on the night, while
Wyatt Olson rounded out the Gustie top five with 11. Swanson posted a team-high eight boards, while Biewen finished with four steals.
The Gusties improve to 6-3 overall and 5-0 in the conference heading into the holiday break. They'll take a few weeks off before hosting Coe College on Dec. 30 at Gus Young Court.
