Despite causing 25 turnovers and holding the lead for the vast majority of the game, the Seattle University men's basketball team fell victim to an 8-0 scoring run in the last minute-and-a-half as the Portland State Vikings pulled out a 66-65 victory Tuesday night at the Stott Center.
Seattle University held the ball with 35 seconds left in regulation, but Charles Odum was able to steal the ball to give Portland State one final chance. As time ran down, Chehales Tapscott was able to convert on his field goal attempt to give the Vikings their first lead since midway through the first half. A final chance for the Redhawks came up short, giving Portland State the comeback victory.
Aaron Broussard (Federal Way, Wash.) led the Redhawks with 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, while Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) contributed 16 points and Eric Wallace (Winston-Salem, N.C.) finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds. As a team, Seattle U struggled in the shooting department, making only 38.0 percent (27-of-71) of its field goal attempts, including 4-of-19 from behind the three-point line, and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the free throw line.
Ahead 32-27 at intermission, the Redhawks came out of the locker room at halftime and immediately went on a 6-0 scoring run to extend the lead into double digits, 38-27. Down by 14 after a dunk by Louis Green (Westchester, Ill.), Portland State scored nine straight points, including a three-pointer by Michael Harthun, to cut its deficit to five points at 47-42. However, Seattle U responded with a three-pointer by Wallace and a basket by Broussard to extend its lead back to 10 points at 52-42.
Portland State (1-1) continued to fight back, scoring seven unanswered points over a three-minute span, including four points by Odum, to make it a one-possession game at 52-49 with eight minutes to go in the second half. Trent stopped the run with two free throws, a short jumper, and a big dunk to give the Redhawks some breathing room, 58-49, with 6:37 left in regulation.
The Vikings again responded, with Harthun hitting his third three-pointer of the game, followed by baskets by Tapscott and Odum, to cut the Redhawk lead to four at 60-56. Seeing his first action of the game, Sterling Carter (Seattle, Wash.) hit a three-pointer to extend Seattle U's lead back to seven at 63-56 with less than four minutes remaining in regulation.
The two teams traded baskets, Tapscott followed with a traditional three-point play, and Odum made two free throws as the Vikings cut their deficit to two at 65-63 with just over one minute remaining. After Wallace missed the front end of a one-and-one, Tapscott could not take full advantage of his free throw attempts, making only one-of-two to keep the Redhawks ahead, 65-64.
Portland State took the early lead, 6-2, as Nate Lozeau made two baskets in the first two-and-a-half minutes. Broussard scored seven points in the first four minutes, including a three-pointer that put the Redhawks ahead, 9-8. Both teams struggled to score until midway through the first half, when a rebound and jumper by Trent, followed by a three-point play from Allen Tate (Hobbs, N.M.), gave Seattle U a 16-12 advantage.
A jumper by Lozeau with just over eight minutes left in the first half brought the Vikings within one at 19-18, but Seattle U responded with seven unanswered points over the next four minutes to extend its lead to eight at 26-18. Portland State's Michael Harvey hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring the home team back to within three, but Broussard hit a jumper in the final minute to give the Redhawks a 32-27 lead at halftime.
Four players scored in double figures for Portland State, led by Odum with 17 points and Lozeau with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tapscott also notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, Harthun finished with 10 points, and Harvey contributed nine points to the winning effort.
The Vikings shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) from the field, including 5-of-18 from behind the three-point line. Portland State enjoyed a significant advantage at the free throw line, going 19-of-27 from the charity stripe, and won the rebounding battle in the end, 42-36, despite the Redhawks pulling down 16 offensive rebounds.
Seattle University (0-1) returns to KeyArena for the home opener Saturday, Nov. 19, against San Francisco starting at 3 p.m., the second half of a basketball doubleheader after the women take on San Diego starting at 12:15 p.m. Dave Grosby and Gary Hill will broadcast the game live from courtside on 710 ESPN Seattle, and ROOT Sports will show the contest on a tape delay beginning at 4 p.m.