Playing its fourth game in five days, the Seattle University men’s basketball team could not keep up with Portland State during the entire game, as the Vikings used two different spurts to earn an 81-67 victory Saturday night for third place in the Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena.
Seattle University, earning fifth place in the tournament after its victory over Louisiana Tech and losses to San Diego State and Portland State, was led by Chris Gweth (Beaverton, Ore.), who scored 14 points. Drew Harris (Yakima, Wash.) scored a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, plus he collected three rebounds and three assists.
Portland State (5-1) used two three-pointers from Phil Nelson and another one by Dominic Waters to go on an 11-0 run over a three-minute span early in the first half to go on top, 15-5. The Vikings finished the first half by outscoring SeattleU 9-2, shooting 53.1 percent from the field in the first half, including 5-of-11 from the three-point line, to open a 40-21 lead at halftime.
Seattle University went on a 12-2 run early in the second half to cut the Viking lead to 2 at 45-33, but Portland State answered with an 8-1 run of its own to extend the advantage back to 20 points (56-36). Gweth scored seven straight Redhawk points in the span of a minute to bring SeattleU within 11 at 70-59, but a basket and two free throws by Jamie Jones and a traditional three-point play from Nelson allowed Portland State to put the game away.
Senior point guard Shaun Burl (Berkeley, Calif.) finished with nine points, three rebounds, three assists, and four steals, while Michael Wright (Lakewood, Calif.) also scored nine points to go along with four rebounds. Austen Powers (Glendale, Ariz.) earned six points, five rebounds, and two blocked shots, and freshman Aaron Broussard (Federal Way, Wash.) contributed five points and four rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.
Four players scored in double figures for the Vikings, led by Waters 22 points on 7-of-13 field goal shooting, plus he pulled down four rebounds and dished out six assists. Jones earned a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Nelson finished the night with 16 points, seven rebounds, and two steals, and Kyle Coston added 13 points and three assists to the winning cause.
Shooting 51.7 percent from the field in the second half, Seattle University finished the game by hitting 43.6 percent of its field goal attempts, including 7-of-17 from behind the three-point line, and 66.7 percent of its free throw attempts. Both teams committed 15 turnovers in the game, and Portland State won the rebounding battle, 37-29.
Seattle University (4-3) returns to the lower 48 states for its first home game in two weeks, welcoming Lewis-Clark State to the Connolly Center for a 7 p.m. contest Thursday, Dec. 4. SeattleU will then travel south for a rematch with Portland State next Saturday, Dec. 6, starting at 7:05 p.m.