Coming off fall quarter finals, the Seattle University men’s basketball team showed some rust, especially offensively, but the Redhawks were able to stifle Pacific Lutheran’s scoring chances on their way to a 66-38 victory over the Lutes Sunday afternoon at KeyArena at Seattle Center.
Brandon Lester scored Pacific Lutheran’s first five points to give the Lutes a two-point lead three minutes into the game, but Seattle U responded with 12 unanswered points over the next four minutes, featuring layups by Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) and Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.) as well as three-pointers from Emerson Murray (Vancouver, B.C.) and Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.).
The Redhawks extended their lead to 35-11 with a 16-0 scoring run over a six-minute span, led by seven points from Murray, in his first game back on the court since the season opener at Washington. In the opening half, Seattle U shot 48.3 percent from the field (14-of-29) and forced Pacific Lutheran into 11 turnovers.
“Emerson looked good. He has been transitioning back for about two weeks now, so this was basically the end of the transition,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. “It was good for him to get out there and get his legs under him. It was nice to see him make some shots, but he was also moving well on defense and did not show much rust, just as if he has been engaged with the team in games all this time.”
Pacific Lutheran (3-4) closed its deficit slightly at the end of the first half, outscoring Seattle U 10-2 over the final four minutes, led by four points from Arvid Isaksen, to go into the locker room at halftime down, 37-21. The Lutes shot only 23.1 percent from the field (6-of-26) and were outrebounded by the Redhawks in the first half, 27-14.
Seattle U scored the first six points of the second half thanks to increased defense pressure leading to easy baskets by Sunderhaus, Trent, and Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.). After trading baskets with the Lutes for the next four minutes, the Redhawks once again extended their lead, thanks to a 9-2 run put together with scoring by Flora and David Trimble (Yakima, Wash.). A 10-3 Redhawk scoring run gave Seattle U its biggest lead of the night at 66-36 before Drew Ardissone made a layup to close out the scoring.
Murray and Umipig each finished with 10 points, while Sunderhaus and William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) each earned eight points and nine rebounds during the game. The Redhawks pulled down 58 rebounds, including 20 offensive boards, and shot 43.8 percent from the field (28-of-64), but Seattle U committed 21 turnovers and made only 6-of-14 free throw attempts (42.9%).
Lester and Terrell Williams led the Lutes with 10 points apiece, while Isaksen collected seven points and three assists. Pacific Lutheran finished the game shooting just 23.4 percent from the field (11-of-47) along with 27 rebounds and 20 turnovers.
Seattle University (7-3) heads to Kent, Wash., for the third annual ShoWare College Classic Thursday, Dec. 19, against Norfolk State starting at 7 p.m. at the ShoWare Center. Tickets are on sale through the ShoWare Center Box Office or online at www.showarecenter.com.