Behind the three-point shooting by Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.), Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.), and Luiz Bidart (Sao Paulo, Brazil) in the second half, Seattle University made a furious comeback to earn its first victory of the 2013-14 season, a 75-71 win over Cal State Fullerton Wednesday night in a men’s collegiate basketball contest at KeyArena at Seattle Center.
Down by 18 at 51-33 with 12:47 remaining in the second half, the Redhawks started their comeback with a three-pointer from Flora. After trading baskets until the eight-minute mark, Flora hit two more three-pointers in the span of a minute to close the Seattle U deficit to 10 at 59-49 with 6:26 remaining in regulation.
Cal State Fullerton (1-1) extended its lead back to 14 points at 65-51 before the Redhawks scored 14 unanswered points, starting with back-to-back three-pointers from Umipig and Bidart and punctuated by consecutive three-pointers from Flora that tied the game at 65-65 with three minutes to go.
The two teams traded free throws over the next two minutes, and then Umipig found Bidart open in the right corner for a three-pointer to put the Redhawks ahead for good, 72-69. Both squads struggled to score any more points, but Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) hit a key free throw with nine seconds on the clock, and the Titans were able to manage only a tip-in before Flora finished off the game with a layup as the horn sounded.
“The guys trusted each other and were resilient tonight,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. “Even when we weren’t scoring points, we were taking good shots and making good plays, and I give our guys credit for sticking with the plan, and eventually the hard work paid off for us.”
Flora scored a career-high 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, including 5-of-9 from behind the three-point line, while Umipig went 7-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-7 from long distance, and 6-of-8 from the free throw line to finish with 24 points, plus he dished out eight assists. Bidart hit three baskets from behind the three-point line for nine points as Seattle U shot 44.4 percent from the field (24-of-54), including 12-of-25 from behind the three-point line.
Michael Williams led the Titans with 17 points, while Marquis Horne and Alex Harris scored 14 points apiece. After shooting close to 50 percent from the field in the first half, Cal State Fullerton was held to 38.5 percent field goal shooting in the second half, making just 1-of-9 shots from behind the three-point line.
After Trent scored the first basket of the game, the Titans went on a 16-2 run to take a 12-point lead six-and-a-half minutes into the game. Umipig scored six straight points and Trent picked up an electrifying dunk as Seattle U scored eight straight points, but the Titans answered right back with nine unanswered points of their own thanks to three-pointers by Harris, Williams, and Horne.
The Redhawks closed to within seven late in the half on a three-pointer by Bidart and a layup from Flora, but Josh Gentry hit a three-pointer as the first half ended to give the Titans a 38-28 halftime lead.
Seattle University (1-1) hosts Evergreen State at KeyArena Saturday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on 770 AM KTTH The Truth with Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. courtside calling the action starting with the pregame show at 6:45 p.m. Tickets for all remaining Seattle U home basketball games are on sale through Ticketmaster or the KeyArena Box Office during normal business hours.