The Seattle University men’s basketball team endured a rough shooting night, and UC Santa Barbara took advantage both from the field and at the free throw line as the Gauchos defeated the Redhawks, 86-70, Monday night at KeyArena at Seattle Center in Seattle U’s final non-conference game of the season.
After Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) hit a three-pointer to open the scoring, UC Santa Barbara scored seven unanswered points, capped by a three-pointer by Michael Bryson, to take the early lead. While the Redhawks struggled to make a field goal, the Gauchos went on a 19-2 scoring run over a seven-minute span to extend their lead to 28-10.
Layups by Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) and Shore Adenekan (London, England) closed the Redhawk deficit slightly, but Seattle U made only three free throws in the final three minutes as it shot just 20 percent (5-of-25) from the field in the first half, including 2-of-16 from behind the three-point line. Meanwhile, Kyle Boswell came off the bench to lead the Gauchos with 13 first half points as UC Santa Barbara hit 12-of-30 shots from the field before halftime, including four three-pointers.
In the second half, another three-pointer by Boswell and a traditional three-point play from Alan Williams extended the Gauchos’ lead to 38-18 before back-to-back three-pointers from Trent and Luiz Bidart (Sao Paolo, Brazil) closed the deficit to 14 points three minutes into the second half. UC Santa Barbara would slowly extend its lead again, with its biggest margin coming seven minutes after halftime at 55-31 after two made free throws by Zalmico Harmon.
Two three-pointers apiece from Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) and Emerson Murray (Vancouver, B.C.) over the next two-and-a-half minutes closed the Redhawk deficit to 14 again at 60-46, but a 9-1 Gaucho run, featuring seven points from Williams, seemingly put the game out of reach. UCSB went 15-of-16 from the free throw line in the final four minutes to hold off the Redhawks.
Umipig led the Redhawks with 24 points, while Murray collected a season-high 20 points as each player made five three-pointers during the night. However, Seattle U shot just 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the field, including 13-of-37 from behind the three-point line, and 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the free throw line.
Williams paced the Gauchos with 27 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and two blocked shots as he shot 8-of-14 from the field and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Boswell made five three-pointers on his way to a 19-point, four-assist performance, while Harmon did most of his damage from the free throw line in compiling 13 points and five assists. For the game, UCSB (8-4) shot 46.9 percent (23-of-49) from the field and 87.2 percent (34-of-39) from the free throw line.
“A game like tonight’s against a good team can show your strengths and weaknesses, and tonight we didn’t play well enough to compete and win,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. “I feel good about our team (going into conference play), they have been working hard and I think we are ready.”
Seattle University (8-5) opens Western Athletic Conference play this Saturday, Jan. 4, against the Kansas City Kangaroos starting at 7 p.m. at KeyArena at Seattle Center. There is a special Amazon Local deal available for tickets by going to http://local.amazon.com/seattle/B00H8CBWSM. Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. will broadcast the game live from courtside on 770 AM KTTH.