Eamonn McCullough – Staff Writer

Facing down a team ranked fourth in the nation is no easy task, but the Gustie men’s basketball team did that and more on Sunday, Feb. 21 when they faced off against St. John’s University on the road. Standout performances from a handful of Gustavus stars kept the score close throughout the game, although the Gusties would eventually fall 68-75 for a current record of 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the MIAC. The Johnnies, now 3-0 overall, are one of two nationally-ranked MIAC teams according to D3Hoops.com, the other being seventh-ranked University of St. Thomas.
“It felt great to go to St. Johns the way we did and play with a great team. We played hard and played well with what we’ve been practicing ,which is unselfish basketball. That really contributed to us being able to stay in the game,” Senior Isaac Douglas said.
Douglas had an outstanding night of basketball, putting 11 points on the board for the Gusties.
The game was a heated battle from the get-go, with back-and-forth scoring throughout the first half. The Gusties looked to be in a position to surge ahead after junior Nolan Malo drained a three-pointer to bring the score to 19-16 with a little over seven minutes left in the first half, and Gustavus took advantage of that momentum. The Gusties expanded that lead to an eight point difference with five minutes to go in the half before St. John’s rallied with a 13-to-4 point surge.
“It felt really good to take the lead and to be playing good basketball. I think it helped a lot with our confidence, which should help us a lot moving forward,” Douglas said.
The Johnnies closed out the beginning of the game with a one-point advantage, and the score sat at 31-30 as the teams took to the locker rooms.
The Gusties surged from the gates when play resumed, scoring eight points within the first two minutes of the second half, accounted for by three clean scoring drives and two free throws. As the half went on, however, the Johnnies fought their way back into the game to bring the score to 46-46 with 15 minutes of regulation play left. Senior Kaleb Faehn brought the heat in twilight of the second half, dropping two three’s to establish a 52-46 lead with a little over 13 minutes to go. The scoring went back and forth for the next few minutes, with St. John’s tying it up 57-57 once again with only a few minutes left to play.
Several Gusties made some crucial plays as the clock ran down, with senior Peter Lundquist sinking a jump shot to draw a small lead with three minutes left, and junior Benji Lundberg making a last-minute three-pointer in an attempt to close the small gap established by the Johnnies. Although Lundberg’s three brought the score to 68-72 with 18 seconds remaining, the Johnnies sank one final free throw to end the night with a win.
“We worked really hard. Defensively, I think that’s what we did best throughout the game. That had a lot to do with our effort and knowing what we needed to get done,” Douglas said.
Douglas commended the teamwork-heavy defensive barrier the Gusties put up that guarded their side of the court.
The Gusties ended the night with some proud stats, shooting 44.4 percent for regular shots and 36.4 percent of three-pointers. The Johnnies had a heavy-handed advantage off the backboard, however, beating the Gusties 37-28 on rebounds. Lundquist had an outstanding game, dropping a college career-high 20 point, as well as three rebounds, three blocks, and two assists. Other standout scorers for the Gusties were Faehn, who ended with 14 points and four rebounds, Lundberg with 12 points, and Douglas. The Gusties will be back in action against St. Mary’s this Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m.
Although the end of their season is only about 10 days away, the Gusties have an intense schedule of games ahead of them and are looking forward to more opportunities for their hard work to pay off.
“Right now, our last game is scheduled for next Saturday. We got a big string of games coming in here, though. We play this weekend, next Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. I’m looking forward to us improving and still playing well throughout the rest of the games. Hopefully we get a couple wins and we’ll see what happens,” Douglas said.