SAINT PETER, Minn. - Gustavus men's basketball hosted Central on Wednesday night in its home opener and came away with a close 75-73 victory to improve to 2-1 overall.
The Gusties built their largest lead at 75-66 with just 46 seconds remaining in the game, but the Dutch made things interesting with seven unanswered points. Central had an opportunity at the game-winning buzzer beater, but
Spencer Swanson blocked the shot to secure the victory.
The start of the game was sluggish on both ends of the court in a low-scoring affair. A three-pointer by Swanson gave the Gusties a 13-9 lead at the 10:33 mark, but the Dutch went on a 16-4 run over the next seven minutes for their largest lead of the game at 25-17. A three-pointer and layup by Swanson cut into the lead and the Gusties trailed 29-25 at the break, shooting a pedestrian 33.3 percent.
Brady Kienitz and
Adam Biewen combined for a trio of three-pointers early in the second half to eventually tie the score at 36-36 and a
Jake Schmitt layup at the 15:02 mark gave the Gusties their first lead of the half at 39-38. Schmitt followed with a trey one minute later and after a timeout,
Myles Barnette got a steal and threw down a fast break dunk to spark the home crowd with a 44-38 advantage.
The Gusties wavered between a two-to-eight point lead for the next 12 minutes until a pair of free throws by Kienitz gave the Gusties their largest lead of the game at 75-66 with 46 seconds on the clock. The Dutch made a quick layup, got the ball back after an offensive foul, and hit a jumper with 23 seconds, making the score 75-70. The Dutch then forced a Gustie turnover, which led to a three-pointer with 10 seconds left, cutting the difference down to two points. After a foul in the double bonus, Swanson missed both free throws, but came up with a block on Central's attempted game-winning three-pointer as time expired.
After shooting just 33.3 percent in the first half, the Gusties improved to 60 percent in the second half to finish at 47.4 percent for the game. They were 12-for-27 from long range. The Dutch shot 47.5 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Gusties 33-29.
Kienitz led the offense for the Gusties with 14 points, shooting 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. Swanson added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds. Schmitt and Barnette finished with 10 points apiece.
"That certainly was a game of two halves mixed in there an interesting final minute," Head Coach
Justin DeGrood said. "We talked at half about doing a better job of dictating tempo and ball-player movement. Two things we did poorly in the first half. I was really proud of how they responded and demanded more of one another. Statistically our second half was far closer to who we want to be. I really credit Coach Vandy [
Chris VanderHyde] with a great defensive game plan that kept us close at half. That same level of execution showed through late in the game when we needed stops most. As the saying goes, it's better to learn from a win than a loss and we are pleased with the outcome but are hungry to keep improving and building."
Gustavus next hosts Simpson at 4 p.m. Saturday.
