MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The No. 12 nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus College men's basketball team battled the Augsburg University Auggies on the road Saturday afternoon in a conference contest between the first and third place teams in the MIAC standings.
Eli Wolff led the way for the Gusties with a 30-point performance on 9-for-11 shooting from long range, just one make shy of the all-time program record, as Gustavus defeated the Auggies 101-88 to win their 15
th game in a row, improve to 17-1 overall, and remain undefeated atop the MIAC through nine games.
The Gusties leapt out of the gate with a 10-0 run to open the game, with Wolff hitting two early threes. Augsburg responded with a 9-0 run to cut Gustavus' lead down to one and eventually took a 13-12 lead. The two MIAC rivals battled back and forth with neither team taking a lead greater than four points until
Andrew Quam hit a jumper with just over two minutes remaining in the half to put the Gusties up by five, leading 45-40. Gustavus finished the half strong to take a 51-44 lead into halftime.
The Auggies cut the Gusties' lead down to just two points in the opening two minutes of the second half on the strength of a 7-2 run, trailing 53-51. Gustavus responded with a 6-0 run to go up 59-51 as they started to find their rhythm. Augsburg pulled to within three points with back-to-back buckets, but the Gusties responded with a 12-0 run to go up 71-56 on a layup by
Obinna Izuora, leading by 15 with just under 13 minutes to go. Gustavus never led by less than 12 points the rest of the way and built their lead up to as many as 19 points up 83-64 on a three-ball from Wolff with just under 10 minutes to go. The Gusties maintained the lead down the stretch to secure the 101-88 victory.
Second chance points were huge for the Gustavus in the win as they outscored Augsburg 17-3 off of those opportunities in the game and 13-0 in the second half alone. Fast break points were beneficial for the Auggies, as they bested the Gusties 24-11 in that statistic.
Wolff's 30-point game was the highlight for Gustavus, but the Gusties had critical contributions throughout their lineup.
Myles Barnette followed Wolff with 19 points and added six rebounds and four assists.
Jake Schmitt and Izuora followed with 15 and 13 points respectively.
Carson Koch led the team with nine rebounds. Quam had a team-high six assists.
Up next for the Gusties is another MIAC road game as they travel to St. Paul to face the Hamline University Pipers on Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00 p.m.
