BACK ON THE ROAD: Seattle University left Monday for Bozeman, Mont., in preparation for Tuesday night's contest against the Montana State Bobcats starting at 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. Pacific time). Gary Hill will be courtside with the play-by-play of the game for 710 ESPN Seattle, which will begin its broadcast on a one-hour delay at 7 p.m. Pacific time. Seattle U is looking for its first victory of the 2011-12 season, while Montana State is coming off a significant victory at Utah.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
Seattle University
Guard: #0 Prince Obasi - 6-2, 205 - Jr.Guard: #1 Allen Tate - 6-5, 205 - Jr.Forward: #2 Aaron Broussard - 6-5, 205 - Sr.Forward: #12 Clarence Trent - 6-6, 225 - So.Forward: #25 Eric Wallace - 6-7, 233 - Sr.Montana State University
Guard: #4 Rod Singleton - 5-10, 185 - Sr.Guard: #23 Xavier Johnson-Blount - 6-4, 205 - Jr.Forward: #20 Shawn Reid - 6-5, 195 - So.Forward: #24 Tre Johnson - 6-7, 200 - So.Center: #15 Mohammed Fall - 6-9, 240 - Jr.THE SAN FRANCISCO GAME: In another close contest, Seattle University had its chances to pull out a victory in front of its home crowd, but the University of San Francisco held on for a 69-63 win Saturday afternoon at KeyArena at Seattle Center. Aaron Broussard led all players with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from behind the three-point line, and 2-of-3 shooting from the free throw line. Down by eight with four minutes left, the Redhawks fought back thanks to a three-pointer by Sterling Carter and a layup from Prince Obasi. A Broussard layup and two free throws from Clarence Trent pulled Seattle U to within one at 62-61 with 37 seconds left in regulation, but the Dons went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final stretch, and the Redhawks missed four of their final five shots to fall short. Trent finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots, and two steals, while Wallace posted nine points and seven rebounds for the second consecutive game.
SCOUTING MONTANA STATE: The Bobcats enter Tuesday's game with a 2-1 record. After losing a close game at Arizona State on Veteran's Day (78-72), Montana State defeated Northern New Mexico (111-61) and Utah (70-64), with the victory over the Utes coming on the road. As a team, Montana State is shooting 50.5 percent from the field, including 31.7 percent from behind the three-point line, and 59.7 percent from the free throw line. Shawn Reid leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.7 points per game along with five rebounds per contest. Rod Singleton is averaging 12.0 points and 4.0 assists per game, while Tre Johnson is contributing 10.3 points and 7.3 points per game. Jourdain Allou has earned 9.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, shooting 13-of-17 from the field.
SEATTLE U VS. MONTANA STATE: Seattle University and Montana State are meeting for the 37th time in history, with Seattle U holding a 27-9 series advantage. The teams first met for two games in Bozeman during the 1947-48 season, splitting the contests. They met again back-to-back in Bozeman in 1951-52, with Seattle U winning both games. In 1952-53, Seattle U defeated Montana State twice at the old Civic Auditorium. In fact, Seattle University had an eight-game winning streak over Montana State from 1948 through an 82-74 loss in Bozeman in 1959. The teams met twice every season home-and-home from 1957-58 to 1969-70, with a three-game series taking place in 1962-63. The teams met once in 1970-71 as well as in 1971-72, which was the last meeting before the teams renewed their rivalry last season. A double-double for Aaron Broussard, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:38 remaining in regulation, helped Seattle University earn a come-from-behind 72-70 victory over Montana State Nov. 29, 2010, at KeyArena. Broussard finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Shawn Reid led the Bobcats with 23 points.
THE LEADER OF THE REDHAWKS: Cameron Dollar is in his third year as the head coach of the Seattle University men's basketball team. Last season, the team continued to make its mark on a national level, defeating Oregon State for the second straight year and also earning a win at Virginia. After leading the team to a 17-14 record in 2009-10, he was named Independent Coach of the Year. The squad picked up victories at Utah, at Oregon State, against Fresno State, and against Weber State during Dollar's inaugural year at the helm. He had been an assistant coach at the University of Washington under Lorenzo Romar for seven seasons. As a player, Dollar helped UCLA win the 1995 NCAA Championship at the Kingdome in Seattle.
ONE AWAY: Aaron Broussard scored 19 points Saturday against San Francisco, leaving him at 999 career points entering Tuesday night's contest against Montana State. Broussard just needs one basket, whether it be a free throw, two-point field goal, or three-point field goal, to become the 35th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. The senior leads the team with 18.0 points per game, shooting 53.6 percent from the field. Two seasons ago, Chris Gweth passed the 1,000-point mark and finished his career with 1,112 career points, 26th on the all-time list. Broussard will look up and see Jeff Nelson (1997-2001) in 34th place with 1,009 career points, followed by Seattle U Athletic Hall of Famers John Tresvant (1,033 career points) and Rod Derline (1,049 points). Broussard is also ninth on the school's all-time steals list with 122 career steals.