“I’m definitely pleased with how we were able to get a bunch of stops down the stretch,” said head coach Cameron Dollar. “We strung several possessions in a row defensively where we got some stops, which was good. We made some preseason type miscues that presented situations that gave them some life. I credit them, they came into this game not shooting the three well at all and they shot the three pretty well tonight. But, all in all, we were able to get the win.”
The Redhawks opened up the game with a 10-0 run over the first two minutes bookended by three-pointers by Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) and Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.).
Nick Gruninger put UC Riverside on the board with a three of his own at 17:18 but a trio of free throws by Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) would put Seattle U ahead, 12-3 at 17:08.
At 15:39, Steven Thornton would start the comeback for the Highlanders with a layup as they would outscore the Redhawks 15-5 over the next four minutes to take their first lead, 18-17, on a layup by Chris Patton at 11:05.
UC Riverside extended their lead to as many as seven, 24-17, on a 9-0 overall run as Taylor Johns added four points on the run on a layup and following dunk.
Luiz Bidart (Sao Paulo, Brazil) hit a three and Trent added a jumper at 8:38 to pull Seattle U within two, 24-22, and SU tied the game at 26 by the five and a half minute mark behind a pair of layups by Trent and Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.).
Chris Harriel hit a three for UC Riverside before Umipig added five straight free throws to pull the Redhawks within one and Sunderhaus would add a dunk to put Seattle U ahead, 32-31, at 3:50.
SU would again pull ahead by seven, 38-31, with two minutes left in the first half after a Sunderhaus layup and a pair of Umipig free throws, but the Highlanders would pull back within four, 38-34, on a Thornton three-pointer.
In the final ten seconds of the half, D’Vonne Pickett (Seattle, Wash.) and Steven Jones traded free throws as the Redhawks kept a four point lead, 40-36, at the half.
UC Riverside pulled within one, 42-41, almost two minutes into the second half, but the Redhawks extended their lead back out to six, 47-41, on a 5-0 run started by a Sunderhaus jumper.
On a 12-6 run, the Highlanders would take the lead, 54-53, at 11:24 behind eight straight points by Sam Finley, including a pair of threes.
The team would trade the lead over the next two minutes but Shore Adenekan (London, England) would tie the game at 57 with 9:35 remaining and Pickett would regain the Redhawk lead, 59-57, at the nine minute mark.
The score would be tied two more times over the next four minutes before Trent and Pickett would combine to put Seattle U ahead by four, 65-61, by the final media timeout.
On an 8-0 overall run, Seattle U would go ahead by six, 67-61, capped off by a Pickett jumper as the shot clock expired at 2:56.
Over the next two minutes, the Highlanders outscored the Redhawks 7-2 on back-to-back layups and a three by Thornton to come within one, 69-68, with a minute remaining.
Jones earned a steal for UC Riverside with 26 seconds remaining to set up one final scoring opportunity for the Highlanders, but Patton missed a jumper at the buzzer as Seattle U came away with the 69-68 victory.
Trent led all players with 19 points while Umipig and Pickett also scored in double figures, adding 17 and 10, respectively. Thornton led UC Riverside with 18 points.
UC Riverside (2-3) narrowly led from field goal range (45.5 percent to 44.4 percent) and from behind the three-point line (36.0 percent to 28.6 percent) while the Redhawks led from the free-throw line (85.0 percent to 56.3 percent).
Seattle U (3-2) makes the trip across the state to face Eastern Washington on Nov. 29 at 6:05 p.m. before returning home to host UC Davis on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. Stay up to date on the team at GoSeattleU.com, as well as by liking “Seattle U Athletics” on Facebook, and following @su_athletics on Twitter.