NORTHFIELD, Minn. — If you thought Tuesday's men's basketball quarterfinal was a thriller...you ain't seen nothing yet.
In a game of all games, the Gustavus men's basketball team defeated Carleton 124-116 in double overtime in the highest scoring playoff game in MIAC history. The Gusties advance to the title game for the first time since 2012, where they will host Hamline, who upset No. 1-seeded Saint John's. Spirited comebacks led the Gusties to victory, as the team closed out the regulation halves with runs of 19-7 and 19-9. Both teams scored nine in the first extra frame, before Gustavus erupted for 21 in the last overtime, and held Carleton to 13 for the victory.
Brady Kienitz started the Gusties off, hitting one from long for a 3-0 lead after tip-off. A Carleton turnover put the ball back in Kienitz's hands for a layup and a five point advantage. Carleton took it personally on their home court, storming back in the game on 67 percent shooting for 23 points to the Gusties' eight. A timeout gave the Gusties the rest they needed to push to the end of the half, outscoring Carleton 19-7 in the final seven minutes.
Wyatt Olson hit back-to-back threes in the last minute of play, one to beat the shot clock and another to beat the buzzer, giving the Gusties a four point lead at intermission, 40-36.
The Knights had the MIAC Championship on their mind after the break, outscoring the Gusties 17-1 in the first five minutes of the second on 8-for-12 shooting. Gustavus was yet to score a field goal in the second half until minute 13, when Kienitz let one loose from beyond the arc to make the score 53-44.
Spencer Swanson cut the lead to single digits with a trey of his own – and the Gustie wheels began to turn. With 44 seconds on the clock and the Gusties down six, Carleton's Sam Koelling took a technical foul, sending Swanson to the line for two. And the junior came up big for the Gusties, sinking both to cut the deficit to four.
Adam Biewen was Captain Clutch for Black & Gold in the second half comeback, scoring 15 in the final 10 minutes of regulation, and hitting one from deep with just three seconds on the clock to set the stage for
Jonah Anderson. Anderson, who came off the bench for
Evan Wieker who fouled out after scoring 14 in the second, made the buzzer-beater basket to send the game to overtime tied 94-94.
Gustavus had all the momentum in overtime one, opening with five points all out of the hands of
Wyatt Olson, who added a pair of offensive rebounds as well. Anderson hit a jumper to extend the Gustie lead to five, 101-96, but Carleton shot 3-for-3 to score seven over the Gusties, and tie the score once more, 103-103.
The visiting Gusties outscored Carleton 21-13 in the second overtime, shooting 5-for-8 and 10-for-13 from the charity stripe to seal the victory. Carleton coughed up the ball twice for two costly turnovers and missed four of eight free throw chances, quite literally putting the ball in the Gusties' court.
Ashton Dingmann, off the bench for Biewen who fouled out in OT one, sunk one from three to put the lead out of reach for Carleton. Swanson added seven to the second overtime total, hitting all of his free throws, taking advantage of all the Knights' fouls to seal the historic win.
Gustavus set a number of records in the highest scoring playoff game in conference history. The 124 points were the second-most in program history, just four shy of the record of 128 set in 1994 against St. Olaf. The team's 18 3-pointers made were the most in program history, breaking the previous record of 16 set in 1997 against Hamline. Thursday's game was the first time in recorded team history that four different players scored at least 20 points each.
Kienitz led the team with a career-high 30 points, going 10-for-20 overall and hitting five threes on the night. Swanson and Biewen were next for the Gusties, each scoring 21 points. Swanson added nine rebounds and eight assists to his stat line. Wieker ended the game with 20, followed by Olson with 15. Olson also picked up a team- and game-leading 17 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive end of the court.
The Gusties will now host Hamline for their first MIAC Championship since 2012 and first at home since 2010, following a women's hockey MIAC semifinal and the women's basketball MIAC Championship, all to be played at Gustavus. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Gus Young Court.
