The Seattle University men’s basketball team scored the first 18 points of the game and never looked back, shooting over 50 percent from the field and committing only 11 turnovers to defeat Alaska Fairbanks, 78-56, Saturday night in GNAC action at the Connolly Center.
hit seven of its first eight field goal attempts to open the 18-0 lead in the first 4:19 of the game. Michael Wright (, ), inserted into the starting lineup for the second time this season, scored six of those points, while Shaun Burl () hit a three-pointer and followed with a fast break layup during the run.
The Redhawks shot 60.7 percent from the field (17-of-28) in the first half, taking a 42-23 lead into the locker room at halftime. cooled off a little bit in the second half, hitting only 40.7 percent of its field goal attempts to finish the night at 50.9 percent field goal shooting (28-of-55).
Chris Gweth (, ) led with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from behind the three-point line. Wright earned 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, plus he pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. Burl finished with nine points, eight assists, and three steals, and Mike Boxley () contributed nine points off the bench in the winning effort.
Kevin Atkins led Alaska Fairbanks (4-12, 1-6 GNAC) with 17 points, five rebounds, and three steals, while Colin Matteson finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Bobby Pico hit three shots from behind the three-point line in the second half and ended with 13 points. Traveling with only eight players, the Nanooks saw their depth take a further hit when Mike Titus was unable to play the second half after aggravating a separated shoulder suffered in Thursday night’s loss at Montana State Billings.
won the rebounding battle, 34-24, and forced Alaska Fairbanks into 16 turnovers. The Nanooks shot 43.8 percent from the field (21-of-48), including 7-of-16 from the three-point line. Both teams did well at the free throw line, as hit 81.8 percent (18-of-22) of its free throw attempts while Alaska Fairbanks missed only one of eight shots from the charity stripe.
(10-6, 3-4 GNAC) begins a crucial four-game road swing next Thursday, Jan. 31, at Central Washington beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats moved into a tie for second place in the GNAC at 5-2 with a convincing victory over Western Washington Saturday night, 86-63. The Redhawks do not play another home game until Valentine’s Day, when Saint Martin’s comes to the Thursday, Feb. 14, for a 7 p.m. start.