BOUNCING BACK, TAKE TWO: Seattle University appeared to have recovered from the Washington loss, jumping out to an early lead against Idaho Saturday. However, the Redhawks were unable to hold onto that lead and will now need to recover from its fourth close loss of the season. If the last two meetings between Seattle University and Eastern Washington are any indication, expect highs and lows on both sides with the strong possibility of extra basketball.
THE IDAHO GAME: Seattle University took the early lead, but three-pointers kept the University of Idaho in the game in the first half, and the Vandals were able to use their hot shooting and timely defense in the second half to pull out an 87-85 victory Saturday night at KeyArena at Seattle Center. Charles Garcia led all players with 23 points, plus he pulled down seven rebounds. Chris Gweth finished with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Cervante Burrell contributed 12 points and Aaron Broussard added 11 points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Seattle University scored 11 unanswered points midway through the first half to take a 17-8 lead. Down 29-17, Idaho received two three-pointers from Luciano De Souza and two long distance shots from Mac Hopson to come within four at 35-31 with 2:07 left before halftime. Despite committing 13 first half turnovers, the Vandals were down by only four points thanks to 7-of-12 shooting from behind the three-point line. Idaho scored eight unanswered points to pull ahead 51-50 five minutes into the second half, but two traditional three-point plays from Garcia allowed SeattleU to retake the lead at 57-54. Hopson hit a jumper with 10:45 remaining to give the Vandals the lead for good, extending the advantage to as much as seven points (72-65) with 5:36 left in the second half. SeattleU fought back, cutting a five-point Idaho lead to one with a jumper by Gweth and two free throws from Burrell. Idaho made 8-of-10 free throws in the final 33 seconds of the game, but the Redhawks had a chance after Taylor Olson hit a three-pointer to bring the home team within one at 86-85. After Steffan Johnson made one-of-two free throws, SeattleU had one final chance with 0.7 seconds left, but could not attempt a shot before time ran out.
SCOUTING EASTERN WASHINGTON: The Eagles come into Monday's game with a 6-16 overall record, including a 2-7 record in Big Sky Conference play. Eastern Washington is on a five-game losing streak, including an 85-77 loss to Portland State on Saturday. The Eagles are 2-11 since their overtime victory over SeattleU in Cheney on Dec. 12. Eastern Washington is scoring 69.6 points per game and giving up 78.2 points per contest. As a team, the Eagles are shooting 41.7 percent from the field, including 34.9 percent from the three-point line, and 70.2 percent from the free throw line. Glen Dean has emerged as the team's leading scorer, averaging 11.8 points per game by shooting 44.6 percent from behind the three-point line and 77.0 percent from the free throw line. Averaging 15.2 points per game in conference play, Dean is also dishing out 4.3 assists per game overall. Mark Dunn is contributing 11.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, while Brandon Moore leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 boards per game to go along with 8.9 points per contest.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the 14th meeting between Seattle University and Eastern Washington, with the Eagles holding a 9-4 series advantage. Eastern Washington won the first seven meetings, four during the 1945-46 season, both games in the 1946-47 campaign, and the game at Cheney in 1948-49. Seattle University finally broke through later that season at the Seattle University Gymnasium, winning 55-48. SeattleU swept the season series in 1951-52, winning at home 83-58 and on the road 95-80. The teams did not meet again until Nov. 22, 1985, an 83-64 win for the Eagles at Reese Court. This will be the first meeting between the two schools in Seattle in 58 years.
FREE BASKETBALL: Seattle University and Eastern Washington have split the last two meetings, with both going into overtime. On Feb. 24, 2009, SeattleU was down by six with 39 seconds remaining in regulation, but the Redhawks chipped away, and Austen Powers hit a three-pointer with 4.9 seconds left to tie the game and force the extra session. With 31 seconds remaining in the overtime, Mike Boxley converted on a traditional three-point play to put SeattleU back up by two. Three straight turnovers by the Eagles allowed the visitors to pull out the 65-59 victory. Earlier this season, SeattleU found itself down by five points, but traditional three-point plays by Boxley and Garrett Lever pulled the Redhawks ahead by two before Mark Dunn's layup with ten seconds left in regulation brought about the extra five minutes. With seven straight points, the Eagles were able to hold on for the 100-97 victory despite a late four-point play from Taylor Olson.
REACHING THE MILESTONE: Let the record show that it came on a basket with 1:25 remaining in the second half against Utah Valley on Jan. 16, 2010. Chris Gweth became the 34th player in Seattle University history to score at least 1,000 career points. He currently has 1,033 career points, tied with SeattleU Athletic Hall of Famer John Tresvant for 32nd on the school's all-time scoring list. Rod Derline is next on the list, 16 points ahead of Tresvant and Gweth. The senior has reached double figures in scoring in 14 of the last 15 games, averaging 13.5 points per game. Gweth scored a season-high 24 points in the first meeting against Eastern Washington on Dec. 12.
JEFF SAGARIN SAYS: The Sagarin ratings is one of the most popular tools for comparing two teams and attempting to predict the result. As of Jan. 31, Seattle University is 208th with a rating of 68.95 and Eastern Washington is 292nd with a rating of 61.58. Taking into account a 4.12 home advantage, the Sagarin ratings would say that SeattleU is favored to win tonight's game by 11 or 12 points.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: As part of the reclassification process, Seattle University is not eligible to officially win any statistical awards. However, if SeattleU was eligible, Charles Garcia would be 21st in scoring at 20.8 points per game. As a team, Seattle University would be tied for 21st with Notre Dame in scoring offense and 23rd in rebounding, averaging 79.9 points and 39.8 rebounds per game.
RECEIVING CHARITY: Charles Garcia has been prolific in getting to the free throw line so far this season, averaging 11.5 free throw attempts per game. Garcia has attempted a Division I-high 254 free throws in the first 22 games of the season, 56 more than Aubrey Coleman of Houston. Garcia has been a major reason why Seattle University has attempted more free throws as a team than any other Division I squad with the exception of Kansas State. Garcia has attempted 30 more free throws than the entire Princeton team and just 19 fewer free throws than Darmouth's entire squad.