THE CITY BY THE BAY: After returning from Maryland Tuesday, Seattle University went through practice Wednesday before traveling to San Francisco Thursday in preparation for Friday night's game against the University of San Francisco. The Redhawks look to bounce back after their valiant effort fell short against the Maryland Terrapins Monday. Seattle-area fans can listen to the action on 710 ESPN Seattle with Dave Grosby and Gary Hill, Jr., beginning with the pre-game show shortly before tip-off.
THE MARYLAND GAME: Seattle University played right with defending ACC champion University of Maryland for about 29 minutes, but the Terrapins pulled away with a 105-76 victory Monday night at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md., in the regional round of the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Alex Jones led Seattle U with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from the free throw line. Cervante Burrell scored 13 points, all in the first half, while Sterling Carter scored all of his 11 points in the second half. Aaron Broussard notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists, a blocked shot, and five steals, and Garrett Lever led all players with seven steals, plus he scored six points and pull down four rebounds. The first half went back-and-forth, with neither team able to keep the other one from staying within arm's reach. After Maryland's Sean Mosley scored four unanswered points to give the Terrapins a 12-8 lead, Seattle U scored six unanswered points on back-to-back layups by Jones and a Burrell basket to pull the Redhawks ahead, 14-12. A jumper by Gavin Gilmore and a layup by Broussard put Seattle U back on top, 25-24, before the Terrapins retook the lead. After Fredrick Wilson hit a basket to tie the contest at 32-32, Maryland broke away late in the first half, closing the period out by outscoring Seattle U, 14-4, over the last five-and-a-half minutes to go into the locker room ahead at halftime, 46-36. Maryland (1-0) attempted to put the game away with a 12-4 run early in the second half to go ahead by 16 points at 58-42. The Redhawks did not quit, closing their deficit back to 10 points thanks in part to three-pointers by Mark McLaughlin and Carter. The Terrapins responded with a 31-8 run to pull away with the contest.
JESUIT BASKETBALL SPOTLIGHT: Tonight's matchup between Seattle U and USF is part of the nationwide Jesuit Basketball Spotlight project, using Jesuit basketball to raise awareness of Jesuit education. Both Seattle University and the University of San Francisco are Jesuit schools. The Jesuit Basketball Spotlight project highlights more than 90 games this season between men's and women's teams from the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States. Each of the 28 is dedicated to strong academics and teaching women and men to serve others and live a faith that does justice. The spotlight project includes awareness announcements during these designated games and during gamecasts on radio and television; and other awareness opportunities. Jesuit, Catholic colleges and universities in the United States have more than 200,000 students currently and more than 1.7 million living alumni. The Jesuit educational mission began in Europe approximately 500 years ago. For more information on Jesuit higher education in the United States, go to: www.ajcunet.edu.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: This continues a busy stretch for the Seattle University men's basketball squad. The team flew back to Seattle Tuesday morning after playing at Maryland Monday night, practice Wednesday, and then fly to San Francisco Thursday afternoon. The Redhawks face the University of San Francisco Friday night, fly back to Seattle Saturday, and head right into their next game, the home opener against Cal Poly Sunday. The team will have two days of practice to prepare for Oregon State Wednesday, Nov. 17, and then they leave for Irvine, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 18, for the subregional round of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, with three games in three days.
SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO: The Dons begin the 2010-11 season with five letterwinners, including three starters, returning from a squad that posted a 12-18 record last season, including a 7-7 record good enough for fourth place in the West Coast Conference. The Dons will need to replace three-time all-conference selection Dior Lowhorn, who led the team by averaging 18.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 2009-10. Junior forward Angelo Caloiaro is the team's leading returning scorer after averaging 8.9 points per game. Last Sunday, the Dons defeated Menlo College in an exhibition game, 95-62, with Caloiaro leading the way with 17 points. Cody Doolin scored 15 points, and Rashad Green contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.
SEATTLE U VS. USF: This will be the 26th meeting all-time between Seattle University and the University of San Francisco, but the first meeting between the two Jesuit schools in 30 years. USF leads the series, 18-7, including an current eight-game winning streak over Seattle U. These two teams met for the first time during the 1951-52 season, with USF winning, 75-62, in San Francisco. Seattle U won the rematch the next season in Seattle, 87-76. The most famous meeting between the two schools took place on March 14, 1958, in the West Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. Led by Elgin Baylor, Seattle U earned a 69-67 victory on its way to the NCAA title game. After Seattle U swept two games from USF in the 1958-59 campaign, the two teams did not play again until Seattle U joined the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1971-72. USF dominated the conference meetings, winning 15 of the 18 contests over the nine-year span Seattle U was in the WCAC. Seattle U's last win over USF came at the Seattle Arena in the 1975-76 season, an 81-70 decision. Seattle U has defeated USF only twice in 13 meetings in San Francisco, the last time a 60-58 victory in 1958-59.