Stanford University cruised to a 72-49 victory over Seattle University in men's basketball action Thursday evening at KeyArena at Seattle Center. Despite the Redhawks holding the early advantage and momentum, it was the Cardinal who managed to earn a double figure lead midway through the first half to take control of the game and drop SU to 2-3 on the year.
Prince Obasi (Reseda, Calif.) got things moving with an individual 6-0 run to give SU a 7-2 early advantage at 16:14. The junior guard would go on to score 11 points, going 5-for-7 from the field in 29 minutes of work.
Obasi's strong individual effort did not swing the game momentum towards the Redhawk side for long, as Stanford responded with a 6-0 run of their own, taking an 8-7 lead at 14:15. From that point forward, the Cardinal would control the game and force SU into a double figure deficit.
At 6:28, Obasi was there again to try to lift his team, making it a 10-point contest, 22-11, after a seven-minute scoreless Redhawk run. Despite being in range, SU was unable to find their rhythm and capitalize on open outside shots, going 0-8 from beyond the arc, to Stanford's 50 percent (6-for-12) first half three-point shooting.
The second half saw Stanford's lead continue to swell, with every Redhawk point being countered by a Cardinal basket. With less than 12 minutes to play, Eric Wallace (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) made it six consecutive points with SU's first pair of baskets from range.
Midway through the second half, the Redhawks began playing a full court man-on-man press, forcing the Cardinal to go 1-for-6 over a four-minute span. On the other end of the floor, Wallace ignited a 9-0 Redhawk run with less than eight to play, to make it a 60-43 contest, the closest the Redhawks had been since the first half.
Wallace earned his first career double-double, leading SU with 12 points and 15 rebounds, including going a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe, plus he blocked four Stanford shots. Seattle U did win the rebounding battle over the Cardinal, 44-36, including 13 offensive rebounds.
In the game, Stanford (7-1) shot 42.9 percent (27-for-63) from the field, to Seattle U's 32.2 percent (19-for-59). The Redhawks struggled throughout the game shooting from range, going 4-for-21, while the Cardinal shot 47.1 percent from beyond the arc. Seattle U also committed a season-high 22 turnovers, while Stanford turned the ball over only 10 times.
"Stanford has good length and got into our passing lanes, plus we froze up a little bit, which contributed to some of our turnovers," head coach Cameron Dollar said. "We still played hard and competed until the end, but we are not ready to face a team like them, but we will be soon."
The Redhawks (2-3) next travel to Cambridge, Mass., to face Harvard Sunday, Dec. 4, at 11 a.m. PT. Dave Grosby and Gary Hill, Jr., will broadcast the game live on 710 ESPN Seattle, beginning with the pregame show shortly before tipoff.