SAINT PETER, Minn. - Gustavus men's basketball erased an early 10-point deficit Wednesday and rolled to a 97-74 victory over Augsburg in the MIAC opener, improving to 4-2 overall.
Augsburg shot lights out in the first eight minutes of the game, making 11 of its first 13 shots for a 25-15 lead, forcing a Gustie timeout. The Gustavus coaching staff delivered an effective speech in the huddle as the Gusties responded with 12 straight points over the next two minutes, highlighted by
Wyatt Olson making a pair of layups and a three-pointer. The Auggies stopped the bleeding at the 8:44 mark to tie the game at 27-27, but a jumper by
Brady Kienitz on the ensuing possession regained the Gustie lead.
Augsburg took a 35-34 lead with 4:42 to go in the first half, which proved to be its last advantage of the game as the Gusties ended the first half on a 16-5 run.
Spencer Swanson ended the frame with a layup in the final seconds and went into the locker room with a 50-40 lead.
Gustavus did not take its foot off the pedal in the second, extending its lead to 19 points in the first six minutes. The Gusties gained their largest lead of 27 points four times in the final six minutes of the game and Head Coach
Justin DeGrood was able to clear his bench in the final minutes.
"It is always a good night to get conference play opened up for the season, even more special when you can do it at home," said DeGrood. "I really liked our energy, determination, attention to detail and competitive joy. It was a slow start for us defensively as we were too passive and reactive for the first quarter of play. Once the guys ironed that out after our timeout I was really pleased with how they responded to us challenging. I thought from that moment on the men did a terrific job of executing our game plans on both ends. There was a lot to be proud of and some really fun basketball was played. It is certainly nice to start conference play off with a good effort and I know the fellas are excited to build on this and get back to work."
The Gusties shot 58.1 percent from the floor and made 9-of-20 three-pointers. They were also efficient at the charity stripe, making 16-of-21 free throws, and controlled the glass by out-rebounding the Auggies 37-22.
Swanson paced the offense with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting. He also led the team with 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. After scoring a season-high 22 points, Swanson surpassed Gustavus Athletics Hall of Famer Doug Espenson (2001-05) for 14th place in the program's career scoring record book, now with 1,302 career points.
Olson was next with 19 points, five boards, and two steals.
Myles Barnette (13),
Evan Wieker (13), and Kienitz (11) also reached double figure scoring.
Gustavus continues its home stand Saturday afternoon against Concordia.
