ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After spending the weekend in the comfort of its home arena, Seattle University hits the road for the first of four straight road games, making the trip to Orem, Utah, to face Utah Valley University beginning at 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. PST). The Redhawks have their first two-game winning streak of the season and have won three of their last four games, the same streak that Utah Valley is currently on. Gary Hill, Jr., will broadcast the game live on 710 ESPN Seattle.
THE CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE GAME: Senior Alex Jones scored a career-high 29 points and Seattle University held Cal State Northridge without a field goal for over seven minutes late in the second half as the Redhawks earned their second straight victory, 65-58, Saturday night at KeyArena at Seattle Center. Jones shot 9-of-11 from the field, making his only attempt from behind the three-point line, and 10-of-11 from the free throw line in posting the highest single-game point total by a Seattle U player this season. Aaron Broussard notched his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Garrett Lever contributed six points, nine rebounds, two assists, and four steals to the winning effort. After Jones scored the first four points of the game, Cal State Northridge went on a 9-0 run to take the early lead before another Jones basket and a three-pointer by Chad Rasmussen tied the game at 9-9. A traditional three-point play from Lenny Daniel put the Matadors back in the lead, which they held until Jones hit a layup midway through the first half to put the Redhawks ahead, 18-17. Cal State Northridge went on an 11-2 run over the next five-and-a-half minutes to take its biggest lead of the game at 28-20, but Seattle U responded, as the combination of Jones and Brandon Durham scored 12 unanswered points to give the Redhawks a 32-28 lead at halftime. A Daniel dunk and a three-pointer by Vinnie McGhee gave Cal State Northridge a 33-32 lead early in the second half, but Jones' three-pointer gave Seattle U the lead for good and started a 10-0 Redhawk run that was punctuated by a three-point play from Broussard.
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY: The Wolverines come into Thursday's game with an 8-8 overall record, including a 6-2 record at home. Utah Valley has won three of its last four games, including a 93-82 victory over Chicago State in the Great West Conference opener last Saturday. Scoring over 70 points seems to be the key to victory for the Wolverines, as Utah Valley is 8-2 when scoring at least 70 points and 0-6 when failing to reach that mark. The Wolverines are scoring 74.9 points per game and giving up 68.1 points per contest. As a team, Utah Valley is shooting 44.3 percent from the field, including 38.3 percent from behind the three-point line, and 77.0 percent from the free throw line. Utah Valley has used the same starting lineup for all 16 games so far this season, and those are the five leading scorers on the squad. Isiah Williams leads the way, averaging 16.8 points per game, followed by Holton Hunsaker at 10.9 points per game and Jordan Swarbrick at 10.8 points per contest. Ben Aird is contributing 9.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and Geddes Robinson is adding 9.3 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per contest.
SEATTLE U VS. UTAH VALLEY: These two schools met for the first time ever last season, with Seattle University winning both meetings. On January 16 at KeyArena, Seattle University received a career performance from Gavin Gilmore and clutch baskets down the stretch from Chris Gweth and Alex Jones to pull out a 66-63 victory. Gilmore shot 6-of-10 from the field in scoring 12 points, plus he pulled down four rebounds, dished out four assists, and earned three steals. Gweth also scored 12 points, including the 1,000th point of his SeattleU career, grabbed seven rebounds, and picked up a game-high five steals, while Jones overcame foul trouble to contribute 11 points and three rebounds. In the rematch on March 6 at the UVU Events Center, Seattle University used a balanced effort on offense and solid defense, especially from midway through the first half into the second half, to pick up a key road victory, 74-64. Cervante Burrell matched his season-high in scoring, leading all players with 18 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. Jones made another solid contribution off the bench for the Redhawks, scoring 13 points in 17 minutes of action. These two teams will meet again at KeyArena Wednesday, February 9.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS: Since returning to Seattle Center Jan. 1, 2009, with a 49-39 victory over Loyola Marymount, Seattle University is 16-5 at KeyArena. The Redhawks finished the 2009-10 season with a 10-3 home record and has compiled a 5-2 record at the Key so far in 2010-11.
ON THE RADIO: Every remaining Seattle U 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. Also, Dollar will be a part of a weekly radio show, "The Cameron Dollar Show", premiering on 710 ESPN Seattle next Monday, January 17, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. The show will originate from Jimmy's on Broadway, located in the Silver Cloud Hotel at 1100 Broadway. The public is welcome to attend the broadcasts in person, and Jimmy's on Broadway will be offering happy hour pricing during the broadcast.
THE RELUCTANT WARRIOR: 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. Those performances helped put him on the All-Tournament Team at the UC Irvine subregional of the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. On Nov. 29, he hit the go-ahead three-pointer on his way to a 20-point, 12-rebound performance as SU defeated Montana State, 72-70. Broussard currently leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. The 10-point, 12-rebound performance Saturday against Cal State Northridge was Broussard's sixth double-double of the 2010-11 season.
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Alex Jones is one of the seniors 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. On Dec. 18 against San Jose State, he scored a season-high 21 points in part on 6-of-6 field goal shooting. He repeated that 21-point performance last Thursday against Eastern Washington, shooting 7-of-14 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Saturday against Cal State Northridge, Jones notched a career-high 29 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and 10-of-11 shooting from the free throw line. He was named Featured Student-Athlete of the Week for his performance over the weekend. Overall, he is averaging 12.1 points per game so far this season.
O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?: Thursday's game will feature a potential matchup of brothers, as senior Alex Jones of Seattle University faces sophomore Zach Jones of Utah Valley. Zach is in his first season at Utah Valley University after transfering from Central Arizona College. Zach has appeared in eight games for the Wolverines, averaging 5.3 minutes per game and collecting nine points and 10 rebounds during his time on the court. Alex and Zach's mother Debbie played basketball during her days at Arizona State University.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN: Freshman Sterling Carter has emerged as Seattle University's leading threat from three-point land. The Seattle native leads the team with 46 made three-pointers in 128 attempts, a .359 shooting percentage. Carter is currently in the top 80 for three-point field goals per game in Division I, averaging 2.6 made three-pointers per game. He made five three-pointers at San Francisco on Nov. 12 and against Oregon State on Nov. 17. January 2 at Pepperdine, Carter went 7-for-15 from long distance, the most three-pointers made by a Seattle U player since Sam Kirby connected on seven three-pointers Nov. 18, 2006, against Ashland University.
POSITIVE TRANSFERS: Two sophomores who transfered to Seattle University from junior college have made a positive impact on the 2010-11 squad so far this season. Chad Rasmussen, a transfer from Tacoma Community College, has worked his way into the starting lineup in the past six games and is now averaging 15.6 minutes per game. His breakthrough game came on Dec. 4 at Weber State, when he scored 13 points, hitting three shots from behind the three-point line along the way. He scored eight points in Seattle U's first game against Eastern Washington on Dec. 15, and followed that by pulling down a season-high five rebounds last Thursday against the Eagles. Brandon Durham connected on the first 11 field goal attempts of his Redhawk career and is currently shooting 59.1 percent from the field. The transfer from Lane Community College scored eight points at Eastern Washington on Dec. 15 and at Virginia on Dec. 22. Durham is averaging 15.7 minutes, 3.6 points, and 3.4 rebounds per game.
STUFFING THE STAT SHEET: Senior guard Garrett Lever has been doing the little things to contribute to the team's effort so far this season. The son of former NBA player Fat Lever, he has earned 3.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. Despite his height, Lever finds himself in the right places on the court, as he is currently second on the team in rebounding and leads the way in steals for the second straight season. He scored a season-high 11 points, plus he grabbed eight rebounds, at San Francisco on Nov. 12 and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds at UC Irvine on Nov. 20. In the Nov. 17 victory over Oregon State, Lever added seven points and six rebounds to the winning effort. The six-foot guard has pulled down at least five rebounds in 14 of the team's 18 games so far this season.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Seattle University is scoring 70.1 points per game and giving up 76.6 points per contest. As a team, the Redhawks are shooting 40.6 percent from the field, including 28.4 percent from behind the three-point line, and 67.2 percent from the free throw line.
SAGARIN SAYS: The rating system created by Jeff Sagarin is one of the tools used to compare teams. As of Jan. 12, Seattle University is 278th in Division I with a Sagarin rating of 65.14, while Utah Valley is 272nd with a Sagarin rating of 65.58. Taking into account a home advantage of 4.10, Jeff Sagarin would predict that Utah Valley wins Thursday's game by about five points.