The Seattle University men’s basketball team saw what it takes to compete with a top team, as the 13th-ranked University of Washington Huskies jumped out to an early lead and used their experience and talent to earn an 87-60 victory Tuesday night at Bank of America Arena.
The reserves showed their aggressiveness and lack of fear for , as freshman Aaron Broussard () led the team with 13 points and also pulled down five rebounds and earned two assists. Leigh Swanson (, ) scored 12 points, and Drew Harris () finished with 11 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
“Aaron and Drew showed that they belonged on the court with this caliber of talent tonight,” head coach Joe Callero. “Overall, we are disappointed with our effort tonight, but the guys know that they have a chance to bounce back and win the tournament in this weekend to help us reach 21 wins.”
Austen Powers () finished with eight points, a game-high 11 rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots. As a team, shot 37.9 percent from the field in the game, including 51.4 percent in the second half, and committed a season-high 21 turnovers against ’s pressure defense.
(23-7) used a 21-4 run over a nine-minute span in the first half to take a 25-8 lead. A 14-6 scoring run by the Huskies in the final five minutes of the first half gave the home team a 42-19 advantage at halftime, with both teams shooting the ball well in the second half as Washington maintained its advantage the rest of the night.
Four players scored in double figures for , led by Jon Brockman, who notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas finished with 12 points, four assists, and five steals, Justin Dentmon earned 11 points, four assists, and three steals, and Quincy Pondexter contributed ten points to the winning effort.
shot 56.1 percent from the field, including 4-of-13 from the three-point line, and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. The Huskies won the rebounding battle, 40-34, but committed 18 turnovers against ’s variety of defenses, the most committed by since the Jan. 22 game against USC.
(19-8) heads to as the top seed in the Spring Thaw Tournament and will face SIU Edwardsville Saturday, March 7, beginning at 3 p.m. local time (1 p.m. Pacific time). Gary Hill, Jr., will broadcast the game live from , on 1150 AM KKNW.