PRESIDENT'S DAY SPECIAL: Two teams who have seen recent success after tough starts face off on Elgin Baylor Court Monday, Feb. 20, as UC Davis, winners of three of its last four after a 1-21 start, faces Seattle U, winners of six of their last eight after opening the season 3-12.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
Seattle University
- Guard: #5 Cervante Burrell - 5-10, 170 - Sr.
- Guard: #10 Sterling Carter - 6-0, 200 - So.
- Forward: #2 Aaron Broussard - 6-5, 225 - Sr.
- Forward: #12 Clarence Trent - 6-6, 225 - So.
- Forward: #25 Eric Wallace - 6-7, 233 - Sr.
THE PEPPERDINE GAME: Seattle University shot the ball well in the first half to take the lead, and then depended on its defense in the second half to hold off Pepperdine as the Redhawks earned an 81-70 victory Thursday night at KeyArena. Cervante Burrell enjoyed the best free throw shooting day by a Redhawk in over six years, hitting all 11 of his free throw attempts as he finished with 19 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Aaron Broussard collected 17 points, while Sterling Carter hit four three-pointers on his way to a 16-point performance. Clarence Trent contributed nine points, five rebounds, and two blocked shots, and Eric Wallace accumulated eight points, eight rebounds, and five blocked shots. Carter hit a three-pointer early in the second half to extend Seattle U's advantage to 10 at 46-36, but Pepperdine scored 13 unanswered points, all by the combination of Moore and Darby, to take a 49-46 lead five minutes into the second half. The Redhawks held Pepperdine scoreless until there was 3:23 remaining in regulation, scoring 14 straight points for a 66-53 advantage. Pepperdine started fouling Seattle U with two minutes left in the second half, but the Redhawks did not allow the Waves to come any closer than seven points back, hitting 13-of-14 attempts from the charity stripe down the stretch.
SCOUTING UC DAVIS: The Aggies come into Monday's game with a 4-22 overall record after defeating Northern Arizona in a BracketBuster game Saturday night, 70-65. It was UC Davis's first road victory of the season, and it was the third win in the last four games for the Aggies after starting the season 1-21. UC Davis is scoring 63.2 points per game and giving up 73.8 points per contest. As a team, the Aggies are shooting 41.5 percent from the field, including 38.7 percent from behind the three-point line, and 68.9 percent from the free throw line. Among the active players, Josh Ritchart leads the way with 11.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Harrison DuPont and Tyler Les are contributing 9.9 points per game apiece.
SEATTLE U VS. UC DAVIS: This will be the sixth meeting all-time between Seattle University and UC Davis, with the Aggies holding a 3-2 series edge. In 2003-04, UC Davis hosted Seattle U and earned a 65-55 victory. These two squads met twice in each of the previous two seasons. Seattle U swept the series in 2009-10, and UC Davis won both meetings last season. On Nov. 27, 2010, Seattle U traveled to Davis, Calif. and fell to the Aggies, 80-58, at The Pavilion. Three players scored in double figures for the Redhawks, with Cervante Burrell leading the way at 18 points, Mark McLaughlin scoring 14, and Aaron Broussard one behind him at 13. Eddie Miller led UC Davis with 20 points and five rebounds, while Joe Harden notched 16 points and seven boards. On Feb. 15, 2011, at KeyArena at Seattle Center, Seattle U again fell to the Aggies, this time 88-78. Alex Jones led Seattle U with 20 points, while Sterling Carter scored 18 while adding nine rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Both Harden and Mark Payne scored 19 points for the Aggies, while Harden added three assists, two blocks, and three steals. Todd Lowenthall grabbed 12 rebounds for UC Davis.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN: In less than two seasons, Sterling Carter has already moved into seventh place on Seattle U's all-time list for made three-pointers with 142. The next target for Carter is a tie for fifth with Mack Junior (1995-99) and Arne Klubberud (1995-99) having 144 career made three-pointers apiece. Also, in the Feb. 11 game against Longwood, junior Chad Rasmussen set the school single-game record for attempted three-point shots with 17.
IT STARTS WITH AB: After passing the 1,000-point mark Nov. 22 at Montana State, senior Aaron Broussard is working his way up the Seattle U all-time scoring list. He currently has 1,384 career points, good enough for 13th place on the all-time list. Broussard also has 157 career steals, just one steal behind Dave Anderson (1981-85) for second place on the school's all-time steals list. Broussard was named the Jesuit Player of the Week by the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight after his all-tournament performance in the Elgin Baylor Classic. He has also been named Independent Player of the Week by College Sports Madness four times this season, including Jan. 30 after finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds against UC Irvine Jan. 24. He was named Independent Player of the Month for January by College Hoops Net after averaging 20.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game in the first month of 2012.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Senior guard Cervante Burrell notched his second and third double-doubles of his career over the span of a week. At Idaho Feb. 7, Burrell collected 10 points and 11 assists, followed by a 14-point, 12-assist performance at Longwood Feb. 11. It was Burrell's steal and fast break layup at the end of regulation that completed Seattle U's second comeback of the day, this one forcing overtime. With 309 career assists, Burrell is currently seventh on the school's all-time assists list, recently passing Seattle U Athletic Hall of Famers Clint Richardson and Keith Harrell. This season, Burrell is averaging 4.5 assists per game as well as shooting 84.2 percent from the free throw line, helped by an 11-for-11 performance against Pepperdine Feb. 16, the most made free throws in a single game without missing by a Seattle U player in over six years.
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Aaron Broussard is now 35th in Division I in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game. As a team, the Redhawks is fourth in the country in rebounding (40.7 rpg) and tied for 43rd in scoring (74.6 ppg).