CHICAGO – The No. 7 nationally ranked Gustavus Adolphus College men's basketball team battled the No. 6 University of Chicago Maroons on the road Saturday night in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Myles Barnette dropped 40 in the Sweet 16 to lead the Gusties to rally from down 12 with 8:41 left to pull within one in the final minutes, but the Maroons defense stood tall on the final possession as Gustavus fell 93-92 to UChicago.
The Gusties leapt out to a 12-2 lead in the opening four minutes of the game. Gustavus led by as many as 14 up 34-20 with six minutes to go in the first half, but then the Maroons caught fire for a 15-2 run to cut the Gusties' lead down to one, up 36-35 with two and a half minutes to go until halftime. Gustavus held the lead at halftime up 40-39.
UChicago took their first lead of the game with the opening basket of the second half and followed it with a three to go up 44-40. The Gusties kept pace for the next five minutes and trailed by just one down 56-55 with just under 15 minutes remaining on the clock, but then the Maroons put together a 17-6 run to take a 12-point lead up 73-61 with 9:29 to go.
UChicago still led by 12 a minute later, but Gustavus started to claw back. The Gusties cut the Maroons' lead down to just one point with 1:18 remaining, trailing 91-90. UChicago made a pair of free throws on the other end, but Gustavus again cut their lead down to one on the next possession, trailing 93-92 with just 46 seconds on the clock. The Gusties got the turnover they needed from the Maroons with 20 seconds remaining to take the final shot, but a long three sailed off target and the follow-up shot off the rebound as time expired fell short as UChicago held on to defeat Gustavus.
Three-point shooting was key to the Maroons win over the Gusties as UChicago made 15-of-31 from beyond the arc as a team for a 48.4% clip, shooting far more efficiently than their 36.0% average from deep on the season. Gustavus made 9-of-24 from three-point range for 37.5%.
The Gusties outscored the Maroons 48-24 in the paint, 23-11 off turnovers, and 21-14 off the bench. UChicago, however, led 20-15 in second chance points.
Barnette led the way for Gustavus with a career-high 40 points on 16-for-21 shooting while also leading the Gusties in rebounds with seven and assists with four.
Andrew Quam followed with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting.
Gustavus closes the season with a 27-3 record. The Gusties went 15-1 in the conference to repeat as MIAC Regular Season Champions and went on to win the MIAC Playoff Championship.
