Preview of Gustavus Men's Basketball Game Against Macalester
Jesse Van Sickle drives to the basket against the Scots at Gus Young Court back in November.
Trevor Wittwer goes up high to score with his left hand in the first game against Macalester.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 (6 months ago)
The Gustavus men's basketball team will begin the second half of the MIAC schedule tonight against Macalester in St. Paul. The Gusties are currently 12-3 overall and in a tie for first place in the MIAC with St. Thomas with a record of 8-2. Macalester was one of only two league teams to defeat the Gusties in the first round of league play as the Scots posted an 82-78 win in St. Peter on November 28. Tonight's game will be broadcast through the Gustavus website beginning at 7:30 pm.
Game Notes
The Gustavus men's basketball team will put its four-game conference win streak on the line tonight at Macalester…The Gusties enter the game in a first place tie in the MIAC with St. Thomas with a record of 8-2 (12-3 overall)…The Scots are currently in a ninth place tie in league play with a record of 3-7 (5-10 overall)…Gustavus is coming off of a 70-65 win at Carleton on Monday night, while the Scots are coming off of a 102-95 overtime loss at Hamline…This will be the second meeting of the year between Gustavus and Macalester,..The Scots won the first game in St. Peter by a score of 82-78…Tom Conboy (34 points) and Abe Woldaslassie (33 points) scored 81 percent of the Scots' points on the way to an important win on the road against the Gusties.
About the Gusties — Coach Mark Hanson's squad finished the first half of the MIAC regular season shedule with a record of 8-2…The Gusties were 5-5 at the midpoint last season…This is the best first half mark since the 2003-04 season when the Gusties posted a 9-1 mark in its first ten league games…Senior wing Trevor Wittwer scored his 1,000th career point on Monday night at Carleton…Wittwer has now compiled 1,001 points in his career…He is the 31st player in the history of the men's basketball program to reach the 1,000 point milestone…The Gusties are 10-0 this season when Jesse Van Sickle scores in double figures and 1-3 when he does not reach double digits…Van Sickle is averaging 11.3 points per game…Gustavus has been shooting very well in its current four-game win streak…In the last four games, the Gusties are shooting 51.2 percent from the field (99-193), 40.2 percent from three-point range (27-67), and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (44-66)…Trevor Wittwer needs one rebound to reach 400 for his career…Senior wing Kane Sivesind has really been a spark for the Gusties in the last three games as he is averaging 16.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game…Trevor Wittwer leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game, followed by Kane Sivesind at 11.4 ppg, and Jesse Van Sickle at 11.3 ppg…The same five players have started all 15 games for the Gusties this season. That group includes point guard Mike DesLauriers (#12, Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.), wing Jesse Van Sickle (#21, Soph., Garden City, Minn.), wing Kane Sivesind (#4, Sr., Madison, Wis.), wing Trevor Wittwer (#11, Sr., Redwood Falls, Minn.), and post Sam Paulson (#54, So., Waseca, Minn.)…Coach Mark Hanson primarily uses a 9-man rotation that includes four players off the bench…That group includes post Andrew Doble (#33, Sr., Sarasota, Florida), post Ryan McPartland (#32, So., LeSueur, Minn.), wing Tyler Kaus (#3, Sr., St. James, Minn.), and point guard Dan Schmidtkneckt (#10, Fr., La Crosse, Wis.)…Those four players combine to average 16.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game for the Gusties…Gustavus is averaging 71.3 points per game on offense in MIAC play (sixth best in the league), while allowing 66.2 points per game (third best in the league)…The Gusties lead the league in field goal percentage shooting at 50.4 percent (269-534) and rebounding margin at +5.3 rebounds per game (averaging 33.9 rebounds per game, while allowing a league low 28.6 boards per game)…Individually, Gustavus has the top two field goal percentage shooters in the league as Sam Paulson leads the MIAC at 60.0 percent from the field (36-60) and Trevor Wittwer is second at 58.6 percent (58-99)…Trevor Wittwer ranks first all-time at Gustavus in career field goal percentage at 60.7 percent…Jesse Van Sickle ranks second in the MIAC in three-point field goal percentage at 47.5 percent (19-40).
The Series - This will be the 139th meeting between Gustavus and Macalester in men's basketball…The Gusties hold 87-51 advantage in the series…The Scots snapped an eight-game losing streak to Gustavus when they posted their 82-78 win in St. Peter on Nov. 28…The Gusties are 16-1 at Macalester since Mark Hanson became the head coach in the 1990-91 season…The lone Scot victory in St. Paul was a 66-54 win in the 2003-04 season…Coach Hanson has compiled an overall record of 32-3 against Macalester in his 18-year coaching career…Hanson recorded his 350th career coaching victory last Saturday against St. Olaf… In his 18 years at the helm of the men's basketball program, Hanson has compiled a record of 351-134 (.723) overall including a mark of 262-88 (.748) in MIAC play…Hanson currently ranks 12th in Division III among active coaches in winning percentage (.723).
Macalester Basketball Web Page
MIAC Men's Basketball Home Page
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