COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — The
Gustavus men's basketball team, in their second of three consecutive road games, took to Collegeville to face the league-leading Johnnies Monday night. Despite a six point lead at the half, SJU, who remains undefeated in the MIAC, slowly erased the Gustie lead to win 73-70 in the game's final minutes. Gustavus, who sits directly behind the Johnnies in the conference standings, now drops to 8-7 overall and 7-3 in the league.
The Johnnies got to as much as an eight point lead in the first half, but the Gusties systematically walked their way back in the game, getting a number of key defensive stops for a 15 point run to take back the lead, 19-18.
Myles Barnette added a block, a layup, and a pair of defensive rebounds to end the half, sending the Johnnies to the locker room behind six, 33-27. It was just the third time all season the Johnnies have gone into the break without the lead in all 15 of their games this year.
The break seemed to give the Johnnies the momentum they needed, as they stormed back on their home court to score nine of the first 11 points in the half. The Gusties took back the lead, going 9-for-13 from the floor for a 22-16 scoring advantage on the backs of
Spencer Swanson and
Wyatt Olson, who had eight and seven points in the run. The final three minutes were for the Johnnies, though, as a 13-5 scoring sequence for the home team ended the game.
The Gusties struggled to regain their lead, missing seven of eight of their last attempts from the floor. Olson missed a free throw with a chance to tie the game with 18 seconds on the clock, while the Johnnies sunk all four attempts from the charity stripe as the clock ticked down. Swanson made a last-second attempt at the buzzer, but his step back sailed off the rim, and would have been one point short of sending the game to extra time.
The MIAC's top two teams sit first and second in NCAA shooting percentage, with the Gusties ranking first in Division III for the third consecutive week at 51.1 percent from the floor, while the Johnnies are second in the nation with a mark of 50.9 percent. Both shot below their average, with the Gusties finishing 48.3 percent from the field and the Johnnies 42.4 percent. A combination of turnovers and the SJU's Zach Longueville plagued the Gusties, as the Johnnies scored 16 points off turnovers and got 16 from Longueville just in the second half to complete the comeback.
Swanson and Olson led the Gustie offense with 22 and 20 points. Swanson also added a team-high 11 rebounds to complete the double-double.
Jonah Anderson picked up 10 points to round out the top three Gustie scorers.
Gustavus completes its road trip Wednesday at Carleton.
