CALIFORNIA DREAMIN': Seattle University will be making its sixth separate trip to the Golden State, flying to Fresno Sunday morning in preparation for Monday night's game against Fresno State. Tipoff time is set for 8 p.m., but with a women's game scheduled for 6 p.m., there is a decent chance that the tip will be delayed. No matter what, Dave Grosby and Gary Hill, Jr., will broadcast the game on 710 ESPN Seattle, beginning with the pregame show shortly before tipoff.
THE CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE GAME: Seattle University battled throughout the night, withstanding several spurts by the Cal State Northridge Matadors to earn a 75-68 victory Wednesday night at the Matadome. Aaron Broussard led the Redhawks with 22 points, getting to the free throw line 16 times during the game as he continually drove towards the basket. Cervante Burrell earned his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, earning 12 attempts from the charity stripe along the way. Sterling Carter started the second half with a layup and a three-pointer to extend Seattle U's lead to 44-30 one minute after halftime, but Cal State Northridge responded with an 11-2 run, thanks in part to two three-pointers from Vinnie McGhee, to cut its deficit down to five at 46-41. The Matadors would eventually take a short-lived lead, but after he made the go-ahead basket, Greene drew a technical foul, and Burrell hit both free throws that would start a 6-0 Redhawk run. After Burrell hit a jumper with just under five minutes left in regulation to put Seattle U back on top, 62-60, Raymond Cody hit a three-pointer to give the Matadors a 63-62 advantage. With the Redhawks down by one, Burrell stole the ball, drove the length of the court, and hit a floater to put the visitors back on top, 66-65. On the next possession, Burrell found Broussard all alone underneath the basket for an easy layup and a three-point lead for the Redhawks. Cal State Northridge was stymied in the last four minutes as Seattle University kept possession of the ball with offensive rebounds and tough defense. Seattle U went 7-for-10 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to extend its lead, and the Matadors received only a three-pointer from Dathan Lyles with four seconds left as the Redhawks clinched the season sweep.
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE: The Bulldogs come into Monday's game with a 7-10 overall record, including a 3-4 record within the Western Athletic Conference after Thursday's 62-52 loss to Hawaii. At the Save Mart Center, Fresno State is 5-4. The Bulldogs are scoring 63.8 points per game and giving up 66.5 points per contest. As a team, Fresno State is shooting 40.3 percent from the field, including 27.6 percent from behind the three-point line, and 58.4 percent from the free throw line. Greg Smith leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Smith is shooting 59.8 percent from the field, the tenth-highest field goal percentage in Division I. Kevin Olekaibe is contributing 10.2 points per game, leading the Bulldogs with 32 made three-pointers.
SEATTLE U VS. FRESNO STATE: Seattle University and Fresno State are facing each other for the fourth time in history, with Seattle U holding a 2-1 series edge. On Dec. 10, 1960, in Portland, Ore., Seattle U defeated Fresno State, 104-73. That Seattle U team featured SU Athletic Hall of Famers Eddie Miles and Ernie Dunston and finished with an 18-8 record, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the magical run to the title game in 1958. On Nov. 25, 2008, Seattle U traveled to Fresno, Calif., for its first regular season game against a Division I opponent since starting the reclassification process. The Bulldogs used a significant rebounding and shooting advantage to pull away with a 79-58 victory at the Save Mart Center. Chris Gweth led Seattle U with 16 points and five steals, while Sylvester Seay paced the Bulldogs with 22 points and Paul George notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. At KeyArena on Nov. 19, 2009, on the night that the court was named in honor of Elgin Baylor, Cervante Burrell converted on a layup with eight seconds left in regulation to give the Redhawks an 85-84 victory over the Bulldogs. After Greg Smith hit a layup to give Fresno State an 84-83 lead with 24 seconds left to play, Burrell quickly brought the ball up the court before Seattle University decided to call timeout. The final play was set up to feature Charles Garcia, but the ball squirted loose. Gweth picked up the ball and fed Burrell, who went under the basket and converted from the other side. Fresno State had one final chance, but Garrett Lever tipped the ball away from Steven Shepp and towards Burrell, who threw it in the air in celebration as the clock wound down to the end. Seattle University outscored Fresno State, 10-3, in the final two minutes of the game. Garcia earned his first career double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Aaron Broussard and Burrell each scored 16 points.
THE RETURN OF CEV: Cervante Burrell has regained his form from last season, playing an important role in many of Seattle University's victories so far this season. Earlier in the year, he collected 22 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals in the Redhawks' 83-80 victory over Oregon State Nov. 17. Starting with that game, Burrell averaged 13.9 points per game over the next 11 contests despite battling through a knee injury suffered at the end of the Dec. 1 game at Portland State. Burrell got off to a slow start as 2011 began, but in the last two games, he has shown his old form of driving to the basket. Against Utah Valley, the junior finished with 18 points and five assists. At Cal State Northridge, he scored 20 points, plus notched his first career double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds in the Redhawks' 75-68 win.
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 15.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. The 10-point, 12-rebound performance Jan. 8 against Cal State Northridge was Broussard's sixth double-double of the 2010-11 season. He needs 184 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career, a goal he can accomplish this season if he averages 16.7 points per game the rest of the way.
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 Jan. 6 against Eastern Washington, shooting 7-of-14 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Jan. 8 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. Overall, he is averaging 11.5 points per game so far this season.
SCANNING THE RADIO DIAL: The Seattle University head men's basketball coach will be a part of a weekly radio show, "The Cameron Dollar Show", on 710 ESPN Seattle every Monday from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Due to games on the next two Mondays, Jan. 24 and 31, the show will move to Tuesday, Jan. 25, and Tuesday, Feb. 1 for those two weeks. 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.
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 49 made three-pointers in 139 attempts, a .353 shooting percentage. Carter is currently in the top 100 for three-point field goals per game in Division I, averaging 2.45 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 eight games and is now averaging 16.1 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 Jan. 6 against the Eagles. Brandon Durham connected on the first 11 field goal attempts of his Redhawk career and is currently shooting 59.2 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 16.0 minutes, 3.6 points, and 3.5 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 3.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.6 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 15 of the team's 20 games so far this season.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Seattle University is scoring 70.4 points per game and giving up 76.8 points per contest. As a team, the Redhawks are shooting 40.5 percent from the field, including 28.1 percent from behind the three-point line, and 66.5 percent from the free throw line.
#32: The number 32 of Seattle U Athletic Hall of Famer Tom Workman will be retired at halftime of the February 5 game against the University of Portland at KeyArena. Workman played for Seattle U from 1964 to 1967, scoring 1,497 career points for a 19.2 points per game scoring average. His number will be the sixth retired by Seattle University, joining Elgin Baylor (#22), Eddie Miles (#20), Ed O'Brien (#3), John O'Brien (#4), and Clint Richardson (#44).