ST. PETER, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team struggled shooting the ball Wednesday  night and dropped its final game of the regular season 57-36 at Gustavus.
 
Carleton also lost, a 67-63 decision at Bethel, so the Bennies earn the No. 5 seed in the MIAC Tournament and host 12^th-seeded St. Scholastica at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, in the first round of the conference tournament. Augsburg clinched the conference title Monday and the Gusties took second.
 
After matching the Gusties (19-4, 17-3) point-for-point to start the game, Gustavus went on a 6-0 run to end the first and take a 17-11 lead, and the Bennies didn't score in the second so the Gusties led 27-11 at halftime.
 
A free throw and later a three from Gabby Martin sparked a 10-0 Bennie run in the third to cut a 15-point Gustavus lead down to five, 35-30, but Gustavus scored late and then held the Bennies' offense nearly silent again in the final quarter.
 
Madison Doran led the team with 13 points and Martin finished with 10. Nancy Soro had nine of the team's 29 rebounds. The Bennies shot 21 percent from the field and went 6-for-8 from the line. Emma Kniefel scored 13 points for Gustavus, Grace Benz had 12 rebounds and the Gusties shot 41 percent from the field and had 42 rebounds.
 
Tickets for Saturday's MIAC Tournament game are $10 for adults and $2 for students, and only MIAC passes will be accepted at the door. The first 50 CSB/SJU students get free with ID courtesy of the CSB athletic department. Conference masking rules are still in place and all fans are expected to be properly masked at all times in Claire Lynch.