GAME #21: After an exciting come-from-behind victory at Idaho last Saturday, Seattle University plays five of its next seven games in front of the home crowd, starting Thursday night against Texas-Pan American. As the second half of the conference season begins, the margin between fourth place and ninth place is small, making every game important over the next five weeks. In celebration of the Seattle Seahawks’ victory last Sunday, anyone wearing Seahawks apparel will receive free admission into Thursday’s contest.
THE IDAHO GAME: Seattle University erased a double-digit deficit in the second half with a 23-2 scoring run, and then capped another rally with a basket by Emmanuel Chibuogwu with six seconds remaining in regulation to defeat Idaho, 68-67, Saturday night at the Cowan Spectrum. Glen Dean hit a three-pointer to give the Vandals a 49-33 lead with 14:43 remaining, but then the Redhawks outscored Idaho 23-2 over the next eight minutes. D’Vonne Pickett Jr. scored six points, and then three-pointers by Isiah Umipig, Jarell Flora, and Chibuogwu put the Redhawks in the lead, with layups by Shore Adenekan and Umipig increasing the Seattle U advantage to 56-51 with 6:41 to go. Idaho would score seven unanswered points late in the half, featuring a three-pointer from Connor Hill and a jumper by Stephen Madison with 14 seconds remaining in regulation, to take a 67-63 lead, but Chibuogwu quickly cut that advantage to one with a three-pointer of his own. The Vandals failed to inbound the ball before the five-second count, turning it over to the Redhawks. On the ensuing play, Pickett found Chibuogwu underneath the basket for the go-ahead layup. Although Chibuogwu missed the free throw, the Redhawks were able to play tight defense, as Pickett stole a Vandal pass to close out the comeback victory. Flora hit 7-of-10 shots from the field to lead Seattle U with 16 points, while Pickett finished with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from the free throw line, plus he dished out five assists. Umipig collected 13 points and five assists, Chibuogwu scored all 10 of his points in the second half, and Adenekan added six points and nine rebounds to the winning effort.
SCOUTING TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN: The Broncs enter Thursday’s game with a 6-17 overall record, including a 2-6 league record that puts them in a tie for seventh place in the WAC standings. After going through a 10-game losing streak, UTPA defeated Kansas City and Chicago State on the road but has lost its last three contests. The Broncs are scoring 66.5 points per game and giving up 71.1 points per contest. As a team, UTPA is shooting 41.2 percent from the field, including 26.8 percent from behind the three-point line, and 65.0 percent from the free throw line. Javorn Farrell is averaging 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Shaquille Boga is contributing 13.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, and Shaquille Hines is averaging 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. In the Broncs’ last game against Bakersfield, Hines led the team with 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and two steals.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: In a wire-to-wire effort, Seattle University earned its first Western Athletic Conference win of the 2013-14 season, defeating University of Texas-Pan American, 64-46, Jan. 11 at the UTPA Fieldhouse in Edinburg, Texas. Seattle U scored the first 11 points of the game, as Emerson Murray hit a three-pointer and Deshaun Sunderhaus made four straight baskets. Alex Majewski finally put UT Pan American on the board with a three-pointer five-and-a-half minutes into the contest, but Jarell Flora answered with his own three-pointer. The rest of the first half saw the two teams basically trading baskets, with the Broncs able to cut their deficit only to seven at 24-17 after a basket by Jamal Dantzler. The Redhawks would score the final six points of the first half, as Isiah Umipig assisted on baskets by Sunderhaus and Murray, and Luiz Bidart hit a jumper in the final minute to give Seattle U a 30-17 lead at halftime. Clarence Trent and Umipig opened the second half with consecutive three-pointers to extend Seattle U’s lead to 36-17, but five straight points by Shaquille Hines cut the Redhawk lead to 14 at 38-24. Seattle U responded with a 19-7 scoring run, featuring nine points from Umipig and six by Sunderhaus, to take its biggest lead of the game at 57-31, and the Redhawks would eventually complete the victory to snap their four-game losing streak. Sunderhaus notched his second double-double of the weekend, shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line for 22 points along with 13 rebounds, three assists, and two blocked shots. Umipig struggled from the field, but did his scoring damage from the free throw line in finishing with 16 points along with six rebounds and seven assists.