Thanks to its best field goal shooting night in four seasons, Seattle University swept its California weekend road trip as well as the season series over Cal State Fullerton, defeating the Titans 74-65 Saturday night in men’s collegiate basketball action at Titan Gym.
Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) shot 6-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind the three-point line, and 4-of-5 from the free throw line to lead the Redhawks with 20 points and four assists, while Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.) used an 8-of-9 field goal shooting performance to finish with 17 points along with seven rebounds, and Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) added 15 points thanks in part to four first half three-pointers.
Seattle U scored the first 10 points of the game, the initial four coming from Jack Crook (Manchester, England) before back-to-back three-pointers by Umipig and Flora. The Titans went on a 7-2 run to cut their deficit in half, but the Redhawks extended the lead back to 12 at 21-9 eight minutes into the game thanks in part to two more three-pointers by Flora.
Sunderhaus and Flora combined to score seven straight points to give the Redhawks a 17-point lead at 28-11 halfway through the first half, but Cal State Fullerton went on a 13-4 run, led by Michael Williams with eight points, to pull to within eight at 32-24 with seven minutes to go in the half. Seattle U closed out the half by outscoring the Titans 11-4 to go into the locker room at halftime ahead, 43-28.
Consecutive layups by Shore Adenekan (London, England) and Umipig gave Seattle U its biggest lead of the game at 47-29 two minutes into the second half, but Cal State Fullerton fought back, closing the margin to eight at 51-43 with a 14-4 scoring run over the next six minutes, capped by three made free throws by Jared Brandon after he was fouled attempting a three-point shot.
Ahead by just seven points, Seattle U scored seven straight points, the last five by Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.), to extend its lead back to 14 at 60-46 with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. The Redhawks iced the game by going 10-for-12 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to prevent the Titans from putting together a serious comeback.
Trent once again contributed to the victory in different ways, finishing with seven points, five rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots. Seattle U dished out 18 assists as a team while committing only 12 turnovers.
The Redhawks shot 61.9 percent from the field (26-of-42), the best shooting night for Seattle U since a 61 percent effort against Sacramento State Feb. 13, 2010. It is also the first time Seattle U has won consecutive road games since picking up victories at Northern Illinois (60-48) Feb. 19, 2011, and at CSU Bakersfield (73-54) one week later on Feb. 26, 2011.
Cal State Fullerton (3-7) was led by Williams with 21 points, while Steve McClellan came off the bench and notched a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. The Titans won the rebounding battle, 37-27, including 22 offensive rebounds that led to 25 second chance points. As a team, Cal State Fullerton shot only 38.5 percent from the field (25-of-65), including 4-of-24 from behind the three-point line.
Seattle University (6-3) will be taking fall quarter finals over the next week before competing again, hosting Pacific Lutheran next Sunday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m. at KeyArena at Seattle Center. It is the Holiday Hoopla game, as Santa Claus will be on hand to take pictures, plus there will be other surprises as the Redhawks celebrate the holiday season. Tickets are on sale through GoSeattleU.com as well as through Ticketmaster and the KeyArena Box Office.