NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The No. 19 nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus College men's basketball team battled the St. Olaf College Oles on the road Wednesday night in a conference contest. The Gusties continued their dominant play this winter to earn their 10
th win in a row, defeating the Oles 90-63. With the win, the Gusties improved to 12-1 on the season and remained undefeated in the MIAC at 5-0.
Gustavus jumped out to an early 8-2 lead through the opening three minutes of the game. St. Olaf cut the lead down to two points at 12-10 seven minutes into the game, but the Gusties responded with a 9-0 run to go up 21-10 midway through the first period. That run was just the start as Gustavus went on to go up by 21 with just under four minutes to go in the opening half, leading 41-20. The Oles battled back to cut their deficit down to 14 by halftime, but the Gusties still led 43-29 at the half.
In the opening two minutes of the second half, Gustavus went on an 8-0 run to take a 22-point lead up 51-29. The Gusties never led by less than that the rest of the way, building their lead up to as many as 30 points twice down the stretch. Gustavus ultimately closed out the game up by 27, earning a 90-63 conference victory.
The Gusties shot 53.7 percent from the field in the win and hit 44.0 percent of their three-point shots, highlighted by a 57.1 percent clip on 8-for-14 shooting from long range in the second half. Gustavus won the turnover battle 8-to-18 and outscored the Oles 27-4 off those turnovers. The Gusties also held a 46-26 advantage on points in the paint, a 12-4 edge in fast break points, and a 10-3 lead in second chance points.
Myles Barnette and
Jake Schmitt led Gustavus with 20 points each. Barnette went 9-for-13 from the field and led the Gusties with eight assists and three steals. Schmitt shot 7-for-12 and was 4-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Carson Koch followed with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Up next for the Gusties is a return to Saint Peter for a non-conference home game against the University of Minnesota Morris Cougars this Saturday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m. at Gus Young Court.
