The Seattle University men’s basketball team cut a double-digit lead down to four, but the Redhawks could not get any closer, as Grand Canyon held on for a 71-63 victory Saturday night in Western Athletic Conference action at the GCU Arena.
Down 43-25 three minutes into the second half, the Redhawks put together an 18-4 scoring run over the next seven minutes to close their deficit to four at 47-43 halfway through the second half. William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) and Emmanuel Chibuogwu (Shoreline, Wash.) led the charge with five points apiece.
Grand Canyon (9-10, 4-2 WAC) settled down, starting with a traditional three-point play by Jerome Garrison, and extended its lead back to nine at 58-49 with less than four minutes left in regulation. A traditional three-point play from Powell brought the Redhawks back to within four at 59-55, but Garrison hit a three-pointer with 2:19 remaining in the second half, and the Antelopes would go 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to close out the contest.
Powell led the Redhawks with nine points, plus he pulled down four rebounds and earned two steals. Jack Crook (Manchester, England) finished with seven points and seven rebounds, and D’Vonne Pickett Jr. (Seattle, Wash.) also collected seven points to go along with four assists. Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) and Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) scored seven points apiece as well, while Chibuogwu contributed six points and six rebounds.
For Grand Canyon, Garrison led all players with 24 points, while Daniel Alexander finished with 16 points and five blocked shots. Killian Larson notched a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, Blake Davis also scored 10 points, and Sam Daly collected nine points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
“We are going through a tough stretch right now, but I know we have no quit in us,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said.
The first half was a tale of two different offensive philosophies, as Seattle U scored 16 points in the paint, while Grand Canyon hit eight three-pointers out of its 10 made field goals. A three-pointer by Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) and a dunk off an offensive rebound from Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.) put the Redhawks ahead 17-15, but the Antelopes would go on a 16-1 scoring run to open a 33-18 advantage. Seattle U closed the gap to 33-23 by halftime thanks to a three-point play by Trent and a layup from Emerson Murray (Vancouver, B.C.) in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the opening half.
For the game, Seattle U shot 34.4 percent from the field (22-of-64), including 4-of-17 from behind the three-point line, and 55.6 percent from the free throw line (15-of-27). The Redhawks pulled down 21 offensive rebounds as part of a 46-37 rebounding edge and scored 20 points off 11 Grand Canyon turnovers.
The Antelopes shot only 37.5 percent from the field during the night (18-of-48), but did make 11-of-25 shots from behind the three-point line, and also shot 77.4 percent from the free throw line (24-of-31).
Seattle University (9-10, 1-5 WAC) will play just one game again next week, heading to Moscow, Idaho, to face the Vandals of the University of Idaho next Saturday, Feb. 1, starting at 7 p.m. The Redhawks will then host Texas-Pan American Thursday, Feb. 6, and New Mexico State Saturday, Feb. 8 at KeyArena at Seattle Center.