Seattle University's full-court press did not work as well Friday night as in previous games, as Utah Valley committed only 14 turnovers and saw six players reach double figures in points as the Wolverines completed the season sweep with an 84-74 victory over the Redhawks at KeyArena.
Aaron Broussard (Federal Way, Wash.) notched his fourth double-double in the last five games, leading the Redhawks with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Sterling Carter (Seattle, Wash.) hit three three-pointers as he finished with 11 points, while Eric Wallace (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Cervante Burrell (Sacramento, Calif.) each earned 10 points and five rebounds, with Burrell also dishing out five assists.
Seattle U jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first three minutes before Utah Valley (9-10) stormed back, outscoring the Redhawks 27-5 in the next six minutes, including two three-pointers by Isiah Williams and back-to-back three-pointers from Keith Thompson.
Seattle U came back with its own 18-6 run over a seven-minute span, punctuated by a three-pointer from Chad Rasmussen (University Place, Wash.), but the Wolverines scored five straight points before Carter hit a three-pointer at the end of the half to cut the Utah Valley advantage to 42-37 at halftime.
Carter hit another three-pointer early in the second half to bring Seattle U within four at 48-44, but a 10-3 Wolverine scoring run extended the lead back into double digits. Broussard hit a three-pointer to bring the Redhawks back within eight at 65-57 with 6:32 left in the second half, but Thompson scored six points as part of an 8-0 run over the next two minutes that solidified the Utah Valley victory.
"We started off good offensively, but fundamentally, especially on defense and in the rebounding game, they kicked our butt tonight," Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. "We didn't do a good job of holding them to one shot, plus we lost the 50-50 balls, and we can't do that."
Williams led the Wolverines in scoring with 19 points, plus he dished out five assists, while Thompson finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Alfonzo Hubbard contributed 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Ben Aird collected 12 points, nine rebounds, and four blocked shots. Geddes Robinson notched a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Holton Hunsaker finished with 10 points, six assists, and three steals, but he missed two free throw attempts after missing only one of 42 chances coming into the game.
Seattle University (3-12) will continue the three-game homestand Monday, Jan. 16, against the Eastern Washington Eagles starting at 7:10 p.m. at KeyArena. Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. will broadcast the game live on 710 ESPN Seattle, beginning with the pregame show at 7 p.m.