Prince Obasi (Reseda, Calif.) scored a career-high 18 points, but the Stanford Cardinal was able to capitalize down the stretch to pull out a 68-57 victory over Seattle University Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion.
Obasi hit two three-pointers and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, plus he pulled down eight rebounds and dished out three assists. Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.) notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, Louis Green (Westchester, Ill.) chipped in nine points, and Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) finished with seven points and seven rebounds before fouling out.
Stanford (5-3) took an early four-point lead at 10-6 thanks to three-pointers from Christian Sanders and Andy Brown, but the Redhawks responded with a 10-0 run, starting with a putback dunk from Trent. A layup by Green, followed by four straight points from Obasi and another Trent basket, pulled Seattle U ahead, 16-10.
The Cardinal stormed back with their own 6-0 run, capped by back-to-back layups by Rosco Allen and Dwight Powell. But Seattle U stopped the run and scored five unanswered points of its own, including a dunk by Sunderhaus with 8:38 left in the first half that forced Stanford to call timeout. A three-pointer by Trent extended Seattle U's lead to 26-20 late in the first half.
Stanford pulled to within two at 26-24 on back-to-back layups by Brown, forcing Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar to call timeout with 2:18 remaining before halftime. The Redhawks struck back, collecting a loose ball and passing it to Obasi, who hit a three-pointer as part of a 13-point first half.
After Stanford scored the first two points of the second half to pull within one, Seattle U rattled off six straight points, punctuated by a dunk from Green, to take its biggest lead of the game at 36-29. The Cardinal went on a 6-1 run, capped by a traditional three-point play from Sanders, to once again close their deficit to one at 41-40 with 12:56 left in the second half.
Neither team was able to score in the next minute-and-a-half until Sterling Carter (Seattle, Wash.) hit a three-pointer. The Cardinal gained the lead on a three-pointer by Josh Huestis and two free throws from Allen. After Green tied the game at 50-50, Stanford ended the game by outscoring the Redhawks, 18-7, including 10-of-11 from the free throw line in the final three minutes.
"You have to credit Stanford, they showed that they were a little more ready for a battle down the stretch than we did," Dollar said. "Our guys came out in the first half, especially the guards for making passes into the post."
Brown led the Cardinal with 17 points, while Chasson Randle finished with 15 points. Powell pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with eight points, and Huestis contributed seven points, seven rebounds, and 10 blocked shots.
Seattle University (2-2) returns home in anticipation of Sunday's contest against Boise State starting at 2 p.m. at KeyArena at Seattle Center. Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. will broadcast the game live on 770 AM KTTH The Truth, starting with the pregame show at 1:45 p.m. Tickets are available online through Ticketmaster.com or GoSeattleU.com, or at the KeyArena Box Office during normal business hours as well as 90 minutes before tipoff Sunday.