After being challenged to improve its rebounding effort, the Seattle University men’s basketball team pulled down 68 boards, including 35 offensive rebounds, as the Redhawks used a significant first half run to pull away with a 100-59 victory over Evergreen State Saturday night in men’s collegiate basketball action at KeyArena at Seattle Center.
After Evergreen State’s Kyle Calhoun made two free throws to tie the game at 6-6, Seattle U scored 21 unanswered points over the next four minutes, including eight easy layups or dunks over that span. The two teams basically traded baskets the rest of the first half, with the Redhawks shooting 17-of-35 from the field while holding Evergreen State to 8-of-26 shooting from the field and forcing the Geoducks into 11 turnovers before halftime.
An 8-0 Redhawk scoring run over a two-minute span early in the second half, punctuated by an offensive rebound and layup by Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.), extended the Redhawk lead to 61-29. No Seattle U player saw more than 22 minutes of action on the court as head coach Cameron Dollar used different combinations throughout the night.
“Regardless of what the score is, we are still developing, so we have to keep working and playing our style right now. We fortunately have a lot of guys with a good motor who want to get out there and play,” Dollar said. “Overall I was pleased with our attentiveness defensively, as we did not allow many uncontested shots. It’s early, so we are still trying to figure out which combinations work. We will continue to develop our team throughout the early season before conference play.”
Sunderhaus notched a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line, while Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) also scored 19 points to go along with three assists and three steals. Jack Crook (Manchester, England), inserted in the starting lineup for the first time this season, responded with seven points and a career-high 14 rebounds, and freshman William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) contributed 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and five rebounds off the bench.
KJ Hong led Evergreen State with 17 points, hitting three baskets from behind the three-point line, while Kwame Awadjie finished with 10 points for the Geoducks. Calhoun, averaging 24 points per game in official contests for Evergreen State, was held to five points on 1-of-12 shooting from the field.
Seattle University (2-1) makes its first significant road trip of the 2013-14 season, heading out Monday in preparation of its game at Boise State Tuesday, Nov. 19, starting at 7 p.m. local time (6 p.m. Pacific time). The game will be broadcast live on ROOT Sports as well as on 770 AM KTTH The Truth.