The 17th-ranked Seattle University men’s basketball team dominated the glass, outrebounding Northwest Nazarene 49-22 as it pulled out to a double-digit lead and posted a 76-58 victory Saturday afternoon in GNAC action at the Connolly Center.
Seattle University went on a 14-4 run midway through the first half to take a 20-10 lead, but the Crusaders responded with a 10-4 run of its own to cut the Redhawk advantage to four. SeattleU outscored Northwest Nazarene, 10-4, to extend the lead back to ten before Joel Ryman hit a three-pointer at the end of the half to make the halftime score 34-27.
After Northwest Nazarene (10-3, 2-2 GNAC) cut the SeattleU lead to six early in the second half, the home team scored the next seven points, five of them by Michael Wright (Lakewood, Wash.), to open a 13-point advantage. The Crusaders came within eight points with 1:29 remaining, but the Redhawks hit all eight free throw attempts in the final 1:09 to ice the game.
Wright led with 15 points, shooting 6-of-9 from the field, plus he pulled down eight rebounds. Michael Knight (, ) scored 14 points, while Chris Gweth (, ) had seven points and ten rebounds and Mike Boxley () contributed seven points and nine rebounds.
Ryan Coldren (, ) earned eight points and six rebounds, Ricky Berry (, ) contributed eight points and four assists, Leigh Swanson () notched six points and seven rebounds, and Austen Powers (Glendale, Ariz.) added six points to the winning effort.
Ryman and Justin Parnell scored 15 points each for the Crusaders, but Northwest Nazarene shot only 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the field. Kendall Gielow, the team’s leading scorer heading into the contest, was held to eight points, and Scott Helpenstell earned seven points and six rebounds but was hampered by foul trouble, especially in the second half.
Seattle University (9-3, 2-1 GNAC) heads south to face Western Oregon in Monmouth, Ore., next Thursday, Jan. 17, beginning at 7 p.m. SeattleU returns home Thursday, Jan. 24, to face Alaska Anchorage at the Connolly Center beginning at 7 p.m.