One week after losing by 14 points, the Seattle University men’s basketball team was much more competitive with the Portland State Vikings Saturday night, but a combination of three-point shooting and an advantage from the free throw line allowed the home team to earn a 73-68 victory at the Stott Center.
For the second straight game, senior Leigh Swanson (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) led the team in scoring off the bench, scoring 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Austen Powers (Glendale, Ariz.) scored 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds, and Chris Gweth (Beaverton, Ore.) overcame a scoreless first half to finish with 14 points along with four assists and three steals.
Starting with four points from Swanson, Seattle University went on an 8-0 run in the first half to take a 15-9 lead eight minutes into the contest. Down by seven points with 8:40 remaining in the first half, Portland State finished the half by outscoring SeattleU 18-8 to go on top 31-28 at halftime.
Portland State (6-1) extended its advantage to eight points in the second half, but a dunk by Swanson and five straight points from Gweth brought SeattleU within one at 44-43 halfway through the second half. After the Vikings scored seven straight points to regain their eight-point advantage, the Redhawks went on their own 7-0 run to once again come within one point. Portland State was able to pull away thanks to a couple of three-pointers and hitting 13-of-15 free throw attempts in the second half.
Mike Boxley (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) had another solid game with nine points, six rebounds, and two assists, while Shaun Burl (Berkeley, Calif.) finished with seven points and four assists and Michael Wright (Lakewood, Wash.) contributed five points and a team-high eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Seattle University shot 46.1 percent from the field, but only 4-of-13 from the three-point line and 2-of-5 from the free throw line.
Andre Murray led Portland State with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, while Dominic Waters hit three shots from behind the three-point line on his way to 16 points. Kyle Coston finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, Julius Thomas contributed nine points and six rebounds, and Jamie Jones added eight points, nine rebounds, and two blocked shots to the winning effort.
Seattle University (5-4) takes the next week off to concentrate on finals before heading to California for road games against Big West schools Cal Poly (Dec. 14) and UC Irvine (Dec. 16), both of which to be broadcast on KKNW 1150 AM. The next home game for SeattleU is Saturday, Dec. 20, against Linfield College beginning at 7 p.m. at the Connolly Center.