MAKING PROGRESS: Seattle University completed a stretch of four games in five days Sunday with a victory over Navy. Now, the team looks to use that result as well as a few days to recharge as motivation to start a winning streak against UC Davis, a team the Redhawks swept last season. This begins another tough stretch for Seattle U, as the team will play four games in eight days, playing in four different states over that time frame.
THE NAVY GAME: After struggling in the first half, junior Aaron Broussard scored 22 of his career-high 26 points in the second half, helping Seattle University pull out a 75-70 victory over the Navy Midshipmen Sunday afternoon on the final day of the subregional of the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, hosted by UC Irvine at the Bren Events Center. Less than 24 hours after scoring 25 points against UC Irvine, Broussard committed four turnovers in the first half, but more than made up for those mistakes after halftime, finishing with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 10-of-14 shooting from the free throw line. At one point in the second half, he scored nine straight points to turn a 51-47 deficit into a 56-51 lead for the Redhawks. After a James Loupos three-pointer brought Navy within one at 57-56, Mark McLaughlin hit a basket and Broussard converted a traditional three-point play to give Seattle U a 62-56 lead. The Midshipmen could not put a dent into the Redhawk lead, as Cervante Burrell and McLaughlin combined to go 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the final minute to preserve the victory. Burrell played a solid game throughout, finishing with 19 points, two assists, and three steals, while McLaughlin notched his first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, plus he dished out a team-high four assists. Both Garrett Lever and Brandon Durham helped the Redhawks enjoy a significant rebounding edge with seven boards apiece. As a team, Seattle U shot a season-best 48 percent (24-of-50) from the field, including 5-of-12 from behind the three-point line, and 71 percent (22-of-31) from the free throw line. The Redhawks outrebounded their opponents, 46-29, but kept the Midshipmen in the game by committing 26 turnovers.
SCOUTING UC DAVIS: The Aggies go into Saturday's game with a 2-4 record after defeating Sacramento State, 61-54, Tuesday night. Joe Harden leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Mark Payne is contributing 12.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and is shooting 82.9 percent from the free throw line. Todd Lowenthal has been making contributions all over the court, averaging 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. UC Davis is scoring 60.5 points per game and giving up 64.7 points per contest. As a team, the Aggies are shooting 42.4 percent from the field, including 31.0 percent from behind the three-point line, and 68.5 percent from the free throw line.
SEATTLE U VS. UC DAVIS: This will be the fourth meeting all-time between Seattle University and UC Davis, with the Redhawks holding a 2-1 series edge. In 2003-04, UC Davis hosted Seattle U and earned a 65-55 victory. These two squads met twice last season, with Seattle University winning both meetings. On Dec. 5, 2009, Seattle U traveled to Davis and defeated the Aggies, 88-78, at The Pavilion. Four players scored in double figures for the Redhawks, led by Chris Gweth with 22 points and Charles Garcia with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Dominic Calegari led UC Davis with 22 points and six rebounds, while Mark Payne earned 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals, and four blocked shots. On Feb. 16, 2010, at KeyArena at Seattle Center, Seattle U completed the season sweep with an 81-56 victory. Alex Jones led Seattle U with 24 points, plus he pulled down nine rebounds, and Garcia earned another double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Calegari again led UC Davis with 19 points, while Joe Harden scored 15 points and Todd Lowenthal pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
ALL-TOURNAMENT PERFORMANCE: Junior forward Aaron Broussard was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, Irvine Subregional. Broussard finished second in scoring, third in rebounding, and tied for second in steals among the subregional participants, averaging 20.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game over the three days. Among those players with at least 10 field goal attempts, he had the highest field goal percentage at .622 (23-of-37), and he led all players with 13 made free throws over the weekend. After starting the weekend with an 11-point, eight-rebound performance against Louisiana Tech, he established a career high with 25 points against UC Irvine. In Sunday's victory over Navy, he scored 22 of his career-high 26 points in the second half.
THE ENGINE OF THE OFFENSE: Once again, Cervante Burrell is one of the keys to the success of the Seattle University men's basketball team. He is averaging 20.5 points per game in the team's two victories and 6.8 points per game in the squad's losses. He broke through with a career-high 22 points along with five rebounds and five assists in Seattle U's 83-80 victory over Oregon State. He was a major factor down the stretch in helping the Redhawks hold on to their lead against Navy, finishing with 19 points and going 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute. The junior guard is the team's leading returning scorer, averaging 11.4 points per game in 2009-10. He also dished out 108 assists during the season.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP: The Seattle University squad is receiving the benefit of experience from two seniors, both from Phoenix, Ariz. Guard Garrett Lever, son of former NBA player Fat Lever, led the team in steals last season with 45, including a season-high seven steals at Cal Poly on Dec. 3, 2009. Lever played in all 31 games, starting six of the final eight games of the season, averaging 3.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest. Lever started the 2010-11 season by collecting seven steals at Maryland, followed by an 11-point, eight-rebound performance at San Francisco. He pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds against UC Irvine and backed that up with seven rebounds in the victory over Navy.
LOCAL FLAVOR: The 2010-11 Seattle University roster has a distinctive bent towards Seattle products, as 10 of the 13 players on the roster reside within easy driving distance of the campus. Several players, including Aaron Broussard from Federal Way High School and Fredrick Wilson and Sterling Carter out of Franklin High School, gained playoff experience by taking their teams deep into the Washington State High School Tournament. For players such as Brandon Durham, Taylor Stevens, and Mark McLaughlin, playing for Seattle University is a homecoming after spending time at out-of-state schools.
ON THE RADIO: Every Seattle University men's basketball regular season game will be broadcast on 710 ESPN Seattle. For the second straight season, Dave Grosby and Gary Hill, Jr., will bring all the action to radio listeners on the same station that broadcasts the games of the Seattle Mariners and the Seattle Seahawks. The pregame show commences shortly before tipoff and includes an interview with head coach Cameron Dollar previewing that day's contest.
IT BEGINS WITH AB: Aaron Broussard has emerged as one of the team's go-to players. He started the season with two double-doubles in the first three games, earning 10 points and 10 rebounds in the Maryland and Cal Poly contests. He helped Seattle U earn its first victory of the season with nine points, 12 rebounds, and four assists against Oregon State. He posted career-high scoring totals of 25 points against UC Irvine and 26 points against Navy, pulling down nine rebounds in each contest. His major improvement so far this season has come at the free throw line, as he is shooting 78.1 percent (25-of-32) from the charity stripe this year.
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Alex Jones is the other senior from Phoenix giving the team some veteran leadership. He started the season by leading the Redhawks with 20 points at Maryland on Nov. 8. He contributed 10 points in the home opener against Cal Poly and 11 points in the Redhawks' 83-80 victory over Oregon State. Jones took advantage of a favorable matchup against UC Irvine, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Overall, he is averaging 10.7 points per game so far this season, and he continues to be one of the team's top free throw shooters, hitting 75 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe.