SAINT PETER, MINN.—The Hamline University men's basketball team's big second half came up short in a 72-71 loss at Gustavus Adolphus in the 2023-24 MIAC Tournament Championship Game on Saturday night. 

The Pipers, who played in their second ever MIAC Tournament Championship game, fall to 17-11 while the Gusties improve to 18-10 and earn the MIAC's automatic berth into the 2023-24 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. 

Gustavus 72, Hamline 71

This Championship bout mirrored many Hamline contests this season, as all (three) lead changes occurred over the opening 11:00. Brendan Ebel, who tied for a career-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, gave the Pipers their final lead of the game at 16-13 off a three-pointer with 12:12 remaining in the first half. It ignited a Gustavus 7-0 run that put them in the driver's seat for good at 20-16 with 9:24 left in the first. 

The Gusties' 38-28 halftime advantage was their largest cushion of the opening 20:00, before they opened the second half with a 8-2 run that gave them a 16-point 46-30 lead with 17:39 on the clock.

Hamline shrunk their deficit from that point on as they outscored Gustavus 43-34, and out shot them .582 (17-of-29) - .393 (11-of-28) in the second half. That deficit got down to one point off Bradley Cimperman's layup with 1:38 remaining, which ended up being the final points of a 72-71 score.

Austin Holt added 18 points and eight rebounds, followed by Mick Wherley's 13 points on 3-of-7 from beyond the arch.

Hamline's 17 wins in 2023-24 is the most since 1976-77, when they won 22 games. The Pipers will look to build upon that in 2024-25, as they're slated to return 21-of-22 individuals.