In a hard-fought contest, Seattle University and Chicago State needed three extra periods to decide Thursday’s contest, but the Cougars pulled away late in the third overtime to defeat the Redhawks, 84-77, in a Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball contest at KeyArena.
A jumper by Emmanuel Chibuogwu (Shoreline, Wash.) with 3:38 left in regulation gave Seattle U a five-point lead at 51-46, but Matt Ross responded with a layup and Nate Duhon made two free throws to cut the Redhawk lead to one. After D’Vonne Pickett Jr. (Seattle, Wash.) made one of two free throws, Quinton Pippen hit a three-pointer to give the Cougars a 53-52 lead with 1:25 remaining in the second half.
After a missed shot for the Redhawks, Johnny Griffin followed up on a Cougar miss with a dunk to extend Chicago State’s lead to three. After a Seattle U timeout, Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) got an open look from downtown and hit a three-pointer to tie the game and send it into overtime.
Pippen hit another three-pointer to put the Cougars ahead, but the Redhawks put together an 8-1 scoring run over the next two minutes, with Shore Adenekan (London, England) scoring five points and Umipig nailing another three-pointer, to take a 64-59 lead. Chicago State roared back, with Clarke Rosenberg converting on a traditional three-point play and Nate Duhon hitting a layup off a steal and pass from Griffin. Seattle U had one final chance, but Griffin blocked Chibuogwu’s shot, sending the contest into a second overtime period.
Chicago State (12-16, 7-6 WAC) took the five-point lead on a three-pointer by Rahjan Muhammad and a layup from Duhon. Adenekan connected on a traditional three-point play, and Umipig hit two free throws with 1:05 left in the second overtime to pull the Redhawks into a 70-70 tie. The Cougars had two chances to retake the lead, but Rosenberg missed both shots, creating the third overtime session.
After the two teams scored two points apiece in the first minute-and-a-half of the third overtime, Chicago State scored nine unanswered points, six of them by Rosenberg, as Seattle U missed five consecutive shots and committed three turnovers over a three-minute span.
“The team gave a good effort, but we need to figure out a way to come out on top in these situations,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. “It is a good thing for us to come right back and play Saturday.”
Umipig led all players with 23 points, including five three-pointers for 90 so far this season, breaking the school record for most three-pointers in a single season that stood for 24 years. Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) finished with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Adenekan scored all 13 of his points after halftime. Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) pulled down 16 rebounds as the Redhawks won the rebounding battle, 57-51.
Five players reached double figures for the Cougars, led by Rosenberg and Ross with 17 points apiece. Muhammad scored 15 points, Duhon collected 13 points, and Pippen finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in limited minutes due to foul trouble. Chicago State shot just 35.4 percent from the field (29-of-82), including 9-of-30 from behind the three-point line, and 63.0 percent from the free throw line (17-of-27), but it did score 29 points off 26 Seattle U turnovers.
As a team, the Redhawks shot 31.6 percent from the field (24-of-76), including 10-of-35 from behind the three-point line, and 70.4 percent from the free throw line (19-of-27). Seattle U went 5-for-22 from the field in the overtime periods and forced only two turnovers by Chicago State in the extra 15 minutes.
Seattle University (12-14, 4-9 WAC) closes out the home schedule Saturday, March 1, against Idaho in a regionally-televised contest starting at 7 p.m. at KeyArena. Before the game, Pickett and Trent will be honored for their contributions to the Redhawk basketball program in Senior Night ceremonies.