Sterling Carter (Seattle, Wash.) led the team in scoring for the second straight game, hitting four three-pointers on his way to a 24-point performance, plus he blocked a season-high three shots. Aaron Broussard (Federal Way, Wash.) notched his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Mark McLaughlin (Seattle, Wash.) also scored 10 points plus pulled down seven rebounds and Alex Jones (Phoenix, Ariz.) contributed 10 points of his own.
"Defensively we played better than we did in the previous two games, but offensively we still need to improve," head coach Cameron Dollar said. "We battled back to take the lead, but give credit to Cal Poly, they were able to score down the stretch and we didn't. We will work on continuing the improvement, and eventually I expect the results to show up on the scoreboard."
Down by seven late in the first half, Carter cut the deficit to four with a three-pointer with 38 seconds left in the half. The Redhawks continued the comeback after halftime, coming within one on a Broussard offensive rebound and putback, but the Mustangs pulled back out to a comfortable lead thanks to Will Donahue, who scored eight straight Cal Poly points.
With 11:05 remaining in regulation, Cervante Burrell (Sacramento, Calif.) put the Redhawks on top for the first time in the game with two free throws. Two Donahue free throws allowed Cal Poly to regain the lead, with back-to-back three-pointers by David Hanson and Jamal Johnson extending the Mustang advantage back to seven at 52-45.
Cal Poly (1-0) jumped out to a quick 12-1 lead in the first three minutes of the contest before Carter hit a three-pointer to stop the early spurt. Down 17-4, Seattle U went on a 14-4 run over the next seven minutes to cut its deficit to three, but a dunk by Shawn Lewis helped Cal Poly extend its lead back to seven.
For the game, Seattle University shot just 27.1 percent (16-of-59) from the field, including 5-of-22 from behind the three-point line, and committed 24 turnovers. The Redhawks did better from the free throw line than two nights ago, hitting 79.3 percent (23-of-29) of their attempts from the charity stripe.
The Mustangs were led by Hanson, who finished with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists, and five steals. Lewis earned 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals, and Donahue earned a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Cal Poly shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57) from the field and 70.0 percent (21-of-30) from the free throw line, plus won the rebounding battle, 43-40.
Seattle University (0-3) starts its preparation for Pac-10 school Oregon State, as the Beavers come to KeyArena at Seattle Center Wednesday, Nov. 17, for a 7 p.m. contest. The game will be televised live on FSN Northwest, and Dave Grosby and Gary Hill, Jr., will broadcast the contest live on 710 ESPN Seattle, with the pregame show beginning shortly before tipoff.