Seattle University struggled to find its offense, allowing Bakersfield to open a significant lead in the second half as the Roadrunners defeated the Redhawks, 83-65, Saturday night in Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball action at Rabobank Arena.
In the first half, Bakersfield scored six unanswered points to take an 8-4 lead, but Seattle U responded with a jumper from Shore Adenekan (London, England) and a three-pointer by Emerson Murray (Vancouver, B.C.) to pull ahead, 9-8. The Roadrunners scored seven unanswered points to retake the lead, 15-9, but the Redhawks used a 9-2 scoring run to jump back on top with 7:30 left in the first half, 18-17.
Bakersfield (11-14, 4-7 WAC) would score the next 11 points of the game over a four-and-a-half minute span, with Issiah Grayson and Brandon Barnes scoring four points apiece during the stretch. After Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) hit a three-pointer to close the Redhawk deficit to seven, Grayson made a layup as the first half ended to give the Roadrunners a 32-23 advantage at halftime.
Three-pointers by Murray and Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half kept the Redhawks within nine, but Bakersfield went on a 7-2 run over the next three minutes, capped by a three-pointer from Grayson, to open a 14-point advantage at 47-33. Seattle U scored eight unanswered points, starting with a three-pointer by Luiz Bidart (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and concluding with consecutive layups by D’Vonne Pickett Jr. (Seattle, Wash.), to draw to within six at 47-41 seven minutes into the second half.
After a three-pointer by Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) kept the Redhawks within six points, the Roadrunners put the game away with a 14-2 scoring run over a four-and-a-half minute stretch. Bakersfield went 15-for-20 from the free throw line in the final three-and-a-half minutes of the contest to complete the season sweep of the Redhawks.
Umipig led Seattle U with 12 points and four assists, plus he pulled down five rebounds, while Murray scored 10 points in the game. Adenekan contributed nine points, three rebounds, and four blocked shots, but the Redhawks were hurt by shooting just 35.9 percent from the field (23-of-64), including 9-of-34 from behind the three-point line, and committing 18 turnovers that led to 18 Bakersfield points.
Five players scored in double figures for the Roadrunners, led by Grayson with 22 points and six assists. Aly Ahmed finished with 15 points and eight rebounds as Bakersfield shot 51.9 percent from the field (28-of-54), including 6-of-9 from behind the three-point line, and 72.4 percent from the free throw line (21-of-29). Although the Roadrunners lost the rebounding battle, 40-32, they took care of the ball, committing only eight turnovers.
Seattle University (12-12, 4-7 WAC) returns to KeyArena for a three-game homestand, starting Thursday, Feb. 20, against Grand Canyon University starting at 7 p.m. Tickets for the remaining Redhawk home games are on sale through GoSeattleU.com and Ticketmaster, as well as at the KeyArena Box Office during normal business hours.