SAINT PETER, Minn. — The Gustavus men's basketball team won its first playoff game since 2015 Tuesday, defeating the Gusties' white whale Bethel, 85-80 in a packed Gus Young Court. The No. 3 seed Gusties will now travel to Carleton Thursday to face the Knights for a 7 p.m. semifinal tip-off.
Gustavus jumped out to an early 12-4 lead on 6-for-7 shooting, getting baskets from five different players to open the game. After shooting 1-for-5 after tip-off, the Royals turned the tables in the next three minutes, going on a 10-2 run of their own to tie the score at 18 apiece halfway through the opening frame. Bethel's Joey Kidder and
Spencer Swanson went one-for-one in the following 10 minutes, Kidder scoring nine and Swanson 11 to lead each of their teams. The lead was exchanged four times, but a layup from Swanson and a defensive rebound from
Adam Biewen the other way gave the Gusties a two-point advantage heading into halftime.
The Gusties struggled from three in the opening frame, getting only one from the hot-shooting
Brady Kienitz, while Bethel took advantage of free throws to catch up to the Gusties, who had 10 fouls in the first half.
The second half Gusties brought a whole different energy to the court. Gustavus opened the frame with five points out of the hands of
Evan Wieker for an 8-4 run to set the tone. Bethel battled back, and the two teams exchanged the lead eight times in the final 20, but a
Spencer Swanson layup-and-one pushed the Gusties out of reach in the final 1:32 of play. Gustavus finished the final minute of play with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting, including an
Adam Biewen steal and dunk, to bring home Head Coach
Justin DeGrood's first playoff victory.
Gustavus finished shooting 56.3 percent from the floor, including an even 63 percent in the second half. The Gusties out-rebounded Bethel 29-26 and got 62 points in the paint in the victory.
Spencer Swanson had another career night, scoring 25 on 10-for-17 shooting with seven rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
Adam Biewen added 17 points to the total, 13 of which came in the second half.
Wyatt Olson and
Evan Wieker rounded out the Gustie top scorers with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Gusties will head to Carleton for the playoff semifinal, while fourth-seeded Hamline will take a trip to Saint John's on the other side of the playoff bracket.
