The Gustavus Men’s Basketball team extended its season with a 90-71 win on the road over St. Olaf in the quarterfinals of the MIAC playoffs on the heels of Head Coach Mark Hanson’s 400th win. Juniors Bobby Johnson and Seth Anderson led the Gusties with 22 points apiece as the Gusties outscored the Oles 49-32 in the second half.
With the win, Gustavus advances to the MIAC semifinals for an 11th straight year and will face top-seeded Carleton on the road tonight at 7:30 p.m. Carleton eliminated the Gusties last year with a heartbreaking 78-71 overtime loss in the finals of the MIAC playoffs.
“Our two teams have a ton of history, and the MIAC Championship here last year only fueled that for us,” Junior Tyler Grey said. “We feel like we have unfinished business, and we entered the tournament this year hoping for nothing more than a chance to play them in the playoffs.”
The Gusties secured their conference tournament berth in style, halting a six-game losing streak and earning Head Coach Mark Hanson his 400th career victory in the process. The 89-78 win over Saint Mary’s in the regular season finale ensured that Hanson wouldn’t have to wait any longer to reach the benchmark after being stuck at 399 wins for nearly three weeks.
“We thought he deserved it a couple of weeks ago,” Grey said. “It’s fun to be a part of something historic—not just for him, but the history of the program in general. It’s a very special milestone.”
With the win, Hanson became only the 65th coach in NCAA Division III hoops history to reach 400 career wins. Although he joked that the milestone meant nothing more to him than the realization that he’s “getting old,” the longtime Gustavus coach said he recognized the importance of the moment for the program.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good players here that have built a great tradition, and I’ve just been fortunate enough to be along for the ride,” Hanson said.
Hanson has been able to experience such a high level of coaching success, thanks in large part to the relationships he fosters with his athletes and his ability to display a calm demeanor on the court.
“His coaching style is pretty ideal from a player’s standpoint because he’s not an emotional roller coaster,” Grey said. “He’s even-keel, and he keeps his calm even when things aren’t going well, which is nice to have as a player.”
A former All-American standout hoopster at Gustavus in the early 1980s and the Gusties’ head coach for the past 21 seasons, Hanson credits his numerous experiences in the sport as his primary source of coaching knowledge.
“I’ve learned a lot from my assistants, other coaches, observations and some trial and error, but there’s not really anyone [who] I’ve tried to model myself after in terms of coaching,” Hanson said. “I try to take things other coaches do and say and just do them in my own style.”
The long-awaited Gustie triumph on Saturday sparked a celebration in honor of Hanson’s coaching excellence, but of equal importance may have been that the team was able to forget its recent struggles and focus on the road ahead in the MIAC Playoffs.
“To be a part of his 400th win was very special. Looking back on all of his great accomplishments, I am really glad I can share this memory with him and our team,” Junior Bobby Johnson said. “It probably should have come weeks earlier, but it was a great way to wrap up the regular season and get us fired up for the playoffs.”
After winning six of seven games and closing out the month of January with an 82-71 triumph over Concordia, the Gusties hit a tough stretch that took them from a 9-2 record and a share of second place in the MIAC standings to an 11-9 record and the tournament’s fifth seed.
“We expected to have a great chance at winning the conference when we started back in October, and for the first half of the season we showed that we were capable of that type of finish,” Johnson said. “The second half was a surprise to all of us, but at this point, the fifth seed doesn’t mean a whole lot. We feel we are a dangerous team that expects to win every game we play.”
Hanson said that he felt his team performed well during the losing streak that saw the Gusties face each of the six MIAC tournament-bound teams except St. Olaf.
“As rough as that stretch was for us, the team very much stayed together,” Hanson said. “Although many positive things came out of those games, we certainly had a need for a positive outcome.”
That positive outcome arrived last Saturday with the victory over St. Mary’s in the season finale to send the Gusties into the MIAC playoffs with renewed confidence.
“It was a struggle not winning a game for two weeks, but that win last Saturday [against Saint Mary’s] helped get our confidence back heading into the playoffs,” Grey said. “We felt like we were back on track and pulling it together at the right time.”
The fifth-seeded Gusties were then paired against the fourth-seeded Oles in the first round, which proved a daunting task for Gustavus, considering that the Gusties had to face the hottest team in the conference.
The Gusties now look forward to their third matchup with the Knights this season. Gustavus beat Carleton 56-51 in mid-January as Johnson’s 14 points led the way for the Gusties, but lost to the Knights 67-49 in early February to split the season series.
“Carleton is a very disciplined team; they don’t make many mistakes, which makes them tough,” Johnson said. “Getting a win earlier this year against them helps, and we know if we play our game to our ability we can win against any team.”