For the second time this week, the Seattle University men’s basketball team overcame a second-half deficit in a hostile environment, as Mike Boxley (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) hit a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in regulation to give SeattleU an 87-85 victory over South Dakota Saturday night at the DakotaDome.
Down by ten points (76-66) with six minutes remaining, Seattle University scored eight unanswered points with a three-pointer by Chris Gweth (Beaverton, Ore.), a layup from Michael Wright (Lakewood, Wash.), and a three-point play by Austen Powers (Glendale, Ariz.). After South Dakota extended its lead to five with 3:14 left, Shaun Burl (Berkeley, Calif.) hit two free throws and Powers nailed a three-pointer to pull SeattleU into an 82-82 tie.
On SeattleU’s next possession, Burl was fouled attempting a three-pointer as the shot clock expired and made two of the three free throw attempts to give the Redhawks the lead. Roman Gentry put the Coyotes back on top by one point with 40 seconds left with a three-point play. Powers missed a three-point attempt, but Wright was able to grab the rebound and call timeout, setting up Boxley’s heroics. The SeattleU defense did not allow South Dakota to take a shot on its final possession.
Powers shot 8-of-14 from the field to lead Seattle University with 20 points, plus he pulled down eight rebounds. Wright finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Boxley tied his career high with 14 points to go along with two rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Gweth contributed 13 points, three rebounds, and two steals, and Burl added ten points and four assists to the winning effort.
"We got beat up on the boards in the first half, but we battled back and stole another come-from-behind victory," head coach Joe Callero said. "I’m sure we will see them again in the (North Dakota) Independent Tournament next week."
Tyler Cain led South Dakota (19-8) with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and seven blocked shots, shooting 12-of-14 from the field. Jesse Becker hit four three-pointers in scoring 19 points, Dylan Grimsley also earned a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds, and Gentry contributed 18 points off the bench for the Coyotes.
For the second straight night, Seattle University committed only four turnovers and forced South Dakota into 12 turnovers during this game. SeattleU shot 47.2 percent from the field, including 8-of-16 from the three-point line, while South Dakota hit 46.2 percent of its field goal attempts and won the rebounding battle, 43-36. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the second half, but the combination of eight Coyote turnovers and ten SeattleU offensive rebounds after halftime allowed the Redhawks to take 11 more field goal attempts, hitting six of those extra shots.
Seattle University (19-7) returns to Seattle for its next game, heading across town to Bank of America Arena to face Pac-10 champion Washington Tuesday, March 3, in a contest that begins at 8 p.m. Gary Hill, Jr., and Dick Fain will broadcast the game from courtside on KKNW 1150 AM, and the game will also be televised by FSN Northwest.