The backcourt play of Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) and D’Vonne Pickett Jr. (Seattle, Wash.) led the Seattle University men’s basketball team to a 76-68 victory over Idaho Saturday night in a Western Athletic Conference contest at KeyArena.
Umipig scored a career-high 36 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field, including 8-of-18 from behind the three-point line, and 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Pickett collected 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals as he played on Elgin Baylor Court for the final time as a collegian.
Idaho (12-17, 5-9 WAC) pulled ahead by six early in the second half on a jumper by Connor Hill, but the Redhawks started their comeback with a three-pointer from Umipig. Emmanuel Chibuogwu (Shoreline, Wash.) converted on a traditional three-point play, and then Umipig hit another three-pointer to tie the game at 45-45.
Hill answered with his own three-pointer, but a layup by Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) and consecutive jumpers from Umipig put the Redhawks on top, 51-48. After the Vandals tied the game at 53-53 halfway through the second half, Seattle U took the lead for good on consecutive baskets by Pickett, as well as another three-pointer by Umipig.
Stephen Madison scored six straight Idaho points to keep the Vandals within one possession at 65-62 with 3:34 remaining in regulation, but the Redhawks put the game away with seven unanswered points over the next two minutes, starting with a layup by Pickett and culminating with five straight points from Umipig.
“It was an emotional night, and I think we were a little tense early in the game, but Coach Dollar gave a great speech, telling us to relax and have fun,” said Pickett. “This means a lot to us to win here at home, especially coming off a couple of tough losses, and now we have some momentum heading into the last weekend of the regular season and the conference tournament.”
After shooting just 29.4 percent from the field in the first half, the Redhawks hit 16-of-26 shots from the field in the second half. Idaho was hot from the field in the first half, hitting 65 percent of its field goal attempts before halftime, before cooling off to 40.9 percent field goal shooting in the second half.
Madison and Hill led Idaho with 18 points apiece, while Mike Scott finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists. The Vandals committed 16 turnovers, while the Redhawks committed just nine turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 36-28, including 16 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second chance points.
Besides Pickett, Saturday was also the final regular season home game for Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.), who finished with four points, three rebounds, and two steals.
Seattle University (13-14, 5-9 WAC) heads to the Midwest to face Kansas City Thursday, March 6, and Chicago State Saturday, March 8, before participating in the WAC Basketball Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., starting Thursday, March 13.