Seattle U held as much as a 12-point lead at 36-24 with 5:48 left in the first half before UC Davis scored six straight points to cut the lead in half. Cervante Burrell (Sacramento, Calif.) scored four points late in the half to help the Redhawks extend their advantage back to eight, but a desperation three-pointer from about 45 feet out by Joe Harden as time expired pulled the Aggies to within five (45-40) at halftime.
After Sterling Carter (Seattle, Wash.) started the second half with a layup, UC Davis went on a 9-2 scoring run, with Eddie Miller hitting a three-pointer to bring the game to a 49-49 tie. A traditional three-point play by Alex Jones (Phoenix, Ariz.) allowed Seattle U to retake the lead, and the two squads traded baskets for the next minute-and-a-half.
Down 56-53, UC Davis took the lead with a 16-4 scoring run over the next five-and-a-half minutes to pull ahead, 69-60, with 9:01 remaining in regulation. A three-pointer by Carter started the Redhawk comeback, as Seattle U would outscore the Aggies, 17-8, to pull into a 77-77 tie with 3:16 left in the second half on another Carter three-pointer.
Mark Payne hit a layup with 2:42 left to give the Aggies the lead for good, with Seattle U turning the ball over and missing a short shot in its attempts to tie the game again. Payne started UC Davis on extending the lead with two free throws, as the Aggies went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe in the final 1:25 to ice the game and earn the season sweep over the Redhawks.
"It was a frustrating night, as they made some adjustments that we did not take advantage of," head coach Cameron Dollar said after the game. "They made their free throws and layups, and we missed our free throws and layups."
Jones led Seattle U with 20 points, while Carter finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots, and two steals. Burrell enjoyed another solid game against the Sacramento-area college, collecting 16 points, five assists, and three steals, and Aaron Broussard (Federal Way, Wash.) contributed 15 points and eight rebounds.
UC Davis (9-16) had four players score in double figures, led by Payne and Harden with 19 points apiece. Miller finished with 15 points, while Ryan Sypkens added 11 points to the winning effort. Todd Lowenthal led all players with 12 rebounds, plus he dished out five assists during the night.
As a team, the Aggies shot 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the field, including 8-of-17 from behind the three-point line, and 73.3 percent (22-of-30) from the free throw line. UC Davis earned nine blocked shots during the contest and came out on top despite committing 22 turnovers, 14 of them in the first half.
After shooting 50 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the free throw line in the first half, Seattle U struggled in the second half, hitting only 26.8 percent of its field goal attempts and 44.4 percent of its free throw chances after halftime. The Redhawks pulled down 19 offensive rebounds on their way to a slight rebounding edge, 42-41.
Seattle University (9-16) heads to DeKalb, Ill., to face Northern Illinois as part of the ESPNU BracketBuster series of games Saturday, Feb. 19, beginning at 3 p.m. Central time (1 p.m. Pacific time). The Redhawks return to KeyArena next Tuesday, Feb. 22, to face the Washington Huskies beginning at 7:10 p.m., with limited tickets still available through Ticketmaster, at local Fred Meyer locations, and at the KeyArena Box Office.