Charles Garcia (Los Angeles, Calif.) led Seattle University with 23 points and two blocked shots, plus he pulled down seven rebounds. Chris Gweth (Beaverton, Ore.) scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half, while Cervante Burrell (Sacramento, Calif.) collected 11 points in the second half to finish with 13 points and three rebounds.
Garcia scored seven points in the first three minutes of the second half to help SeattleU extend its lead to 52-39. After a Peter Harris (Seattle, Wash.) three-pointer increased the Redhawks' lead to 16 at 64-48 with 12 minutes left in the second half, Sabatino Chen scored seven of Denver's next ten points as the Pioneers closed the gap to six points at 64-58.
A jumper by Chris Gweth gave SeattleU a 77-69 lead with three minutes remaining, but Denver scored five unanswered points over the next two minutes to close within three. A three-point play from Rob Lewis brought the Pioneers within one at 80-79 with 25.7 seconds left, and Brian Stafford answered two SeattleU free throws with a basket with 11.5 seconds remaining in regulation.
On the Redhawks' next possession, Peter Harris, playing well in his first game of the season, was fouled by Nate Rohnert. After initially blowing the whistle and calling the foul with 2.8 seconds on the clock, the referees consulted the monitor and added almost two full seconds on the clock, ruling that Rohnert committed the foul with 4.7 seconds left. Harris made one of two free throws, and Denver had enough time to find Hooper, who hit the three-point shot from the right wing to complete the Pioneer comeback.
Alex Jones (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored 11 points in the first half, but fouled out early in the second half after picking up a technical foul that counted as his fifth foul. Aaron Broussard (Federal Way, Wash.) collected eight points and a game-high eight rebounds, helping SeattleU win the rebounding battle, 34-28.
Denver (9-3) scored the first four points and held the lead for the first 11 minutes of the contest, extending it to as much as six points at 23-17. A three-pointer by Garcia started a 9-1 run that allowed the Redhawks to come back and go on top, 26-24. A 9-3 SeattleU run in the final four minutes, paced by Jones' seven points, put the visitors ahead at halftime, 43-37.
Rohnert shot 9-of-15 from the field and 15-of-17 from the free throw line to finish with 34 points, while Rob Lewis contributed 19 points and six rebounds and Chen added 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. Chase Hallam finished with eight points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Both teams shot 50 percent from the field, with SeattleU hitting 28-of-56 field goal attempts and Denver converting on 23-of-46 shots from the field. Each team made four three-pointers, and the Pioneers shot 34-of-44 from the free throw line, while SeattleU went 23-of-34 from the charity stripe. The Redhawks committed 15 turnovers while forcing 17 turnovers by Denver.
Seattle University (6-7) will reconvene in Seattle after Christmas for a couple days of practice before heading to Los Angeles for a contest against Loyola Marymount next Wednesday, Dec. 30, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Redhawks start 2010 with a home game against Harvard Saturday, Jan. 2, starting at 2 p.m. at KeyArena at Seattle Center.