The Seattle University men’s basketball team overcame an early deficit, but Eastern Washington took care of the ball and made its shots to defeat the Redhawks, 82-75, Friday night at Reese Court.
Down by five two minutes into the second half, Seattle U turned the score around with a 10-0 scoring run, including back-to-back steals by Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) that resulted in a layup for him and a three-point play for Shore Adenekan (London, England). The Redhawks extended their lead to six at 52-46 on a three-pointer by Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.), but Eastern Washington responded with its own long distance basket from Tyler Harvey.
Eastern Washington (5-2) pulled into a 52-52 tie thanks to a free throw and a jumper by Venky Jois, and the two teams traded baskets for the next seven minutes. Harvey put the Eagles ahead for good with a three-pointer with 4:56 left in regulation, but Trent closed the Redhawk deficit to one with two free throws. After Harvey made two free throws of his own, Drew Brandon made back-to-back layups to help Eastern Washington increase its lead to five at 76-71 with 1:45 to go.
The Redhawks were behind by three with the ball, but committed a key turnover with 24 seconds remaining in the second half. Harvey and Jois solidified the Eagle victory with two free throws apiece, completing a night in which Eastern Washington made 13-of-16 free throw attempts (81.3 percent).
Umipig led the Redhawks with 16 points, including four three-pointers, and seven assists, while Trent finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Adenekan and Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.) each collected 13 points, and Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) added 10 points to the Redhawk effort. As a team, Seattle U shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the field, including 8-of-21 from behind the three-point line, and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the free throw line.
Harvey scored 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 6-of-9 from behind the three-point line, and 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. Jois notched a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon contributed 12 points and seven assists. Besides their free throw shooting, the Eagles also shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the field, including 9-of-19 from behind the three-point line.
Three-pointers by Trent and Umipig in the first three minutes of the game put the Redhawks ahead, 8-7, but the Eagles responded with a 12-0 scoring run over the next three minutes, with Jois scoring half of the points. A dunk by Adenekan and a Trent three-pointer closed the Seattle U deficit to six, but a three-pointer by Brandon and a dunk from Martin Seiferth extended the Eagle lead back into double digits.
The Redhawks would chip away at the Eastern Washington lead throughout the rest of the first half, starting with a three-pointer by Flora and back-to-back baskets from D’Vonne Pickett Jr. (Seattle, Wash.). Sunderhaus would score Seattle U’s final seven points of the opening half as the Redhawks outscored the Eagles over the final four minutes, 10-4, to pull to within three at 38-35 at halftime.
Seattle University (3-3) returns to KeyArena for a home contest against UC Davis Monday, Dec. 2, starting at 7 p.m. Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. will broadcast the game live from courtside on 770 AM KTTH, starting with the pregame show shortly before tipoff. Tickets for all remaining Seattle U home games are available at the KeyArena Box Office or through Ticketmaster.