Staff Writer- Nathan Swanson
Gustavus Men’s Basketball, ranked No. 8 in the country, traveled to St. Paul on Saturday to face the Macalester College Scots. The scouting report for the game had #0 of the Scots as a player to focus on for the Gusties.
“We tried to focus on making life hard for Noah Shannon, who is the MIAC’s leading scorer at over 21 ppg. Doubling him in the post and surrounding him with bodies the entire night. He really makes things go on offense for them: scoring, rebounding and kicking out to multiple of their very good shooters…” Senior Carson Koch said.
Shannon had 7 points, 6 rebounds, and shot 3-7 in the contest. Gustavus went on to win their 19th game in a row with a 91-58 victory over the Scots. They are now 21-1 overall and are undefeated in conference play at the top of the MIAC with a 13-0 record.
Beginning the first half, Gustavus started strong, opening with a 7-0 lead with offense coming from Junior Myles Barnette and Junior Jake Schmitt. While Macalester cut into the early lead with two three-pointers, Schmitt hit a three-pointer himself that began a run where Gustavus would go up 23-6 halfway through the first half. The Scots then found an answer to cut into the lead, and Gustavus was up by 11 points with eight minutes remaining in the half. The Gusties would go on another run in which they led 37-16 after scoring 10 points in a row. In the last four minutes of the first half, they would score 14 more points. Heading into halftime, Gustavus had considerable separation against the Scots as they were up by 28 points. The score was 51-23.
Into the second half, Macalester would find some rhythm and go on a 13-0 scoring run, which cut the Gustavus lead down to 21 points. With 12 minutes remaining in the game the score was 62-41 Gusties. While the Scots were able to get a little bit of momentum on their side, it was quickly thwarted as the Gusties would go on a run where they would outscore Macalester 14-3. Those four minutes were important as they helped to create more separation, and Gustavus had a sizable lead by 30 points. With under 9 minutes remaining in the game, the bench would come in and conclude the game, where the Gusties won by a commanding 33-point victory. For the game, 15 Gusties would get in and play, and 12 different players would help the team in scoring.
“We have consistently gone 9-10 guys deep this entire year, and even more when we have big wins. So many guys on our team do so many great things, it’s been amazing to watch and be a part of,” Koch said.
Team statistics favored Gustavus in many key categories. Their field goal percentage was .493 for the game, while Macalester was .328. Gustavus shot just over 40% on three pointers, shooting .405. Macalester shot .324 on three pointers. Gustavus shot well at the free throw line, shooting .800, while Macalester was over 50% at .556. Rebound numbers for the game were close in comparison, where Macalester had 41 total rebounds, and Gustavus had 43 total rebounds. Macalester had a high number of turnovers in the game at 19, while the Gusties had 6 turnovers. Gustavus was able to take those Scots turnovers and turn them into lots of points off turnovers. For the game, they outscored their opponent 24-2 off turnovers. “Points off turnovers have been crucial for us this year, we take pride in defending and everyone on our team is bought into that. Coach Vandy and DeGrood put together fabulous game plans that help us create havoc on the court,” Koch said. Steals for the game heavily favored Gustavus as they had a total of 13 steals, while Macalester had 2 total steals.
Coming up for Gustavus, they come back home to play their final three games of the regular season. While the season has been an incredible one, they are not satisfied.
“We know every game is important, so we’re staying locked in during practice and working on the little things we can improve. Even with the season we are having, we aren’t getting comfortable,” Koch said.
Their next game will be played against the Carleton College Knights. Carleton is 8-5 in conference play and 12-10 overall. Tip-off for the game is Wednesday, Feb. 11th at 7:00 p.m. at Gus Young Court.