Seattle University received offensive contributions from several players, but the Kansas City Kangaroos were able to pull away late and hold off the Redhawks, 82-73, Thursday night in a Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball contest at the Independence Events Center.
A three-pointer by Emmanuel Chibuogwu (Shoreline, Wash.) gave the Redhawks a 7-4 lead, but Kansas City scored nine unanswered points to pull ahead, 13-7, with 11:19 remaining in the first half. Seattle U scored 10 straight points over a four-minute span, led by back-to-back three-pointers by Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.), to retake the lead at 22-17 with just under six minutes to go before halftime.
Kansas City (10-18, 7-9 WAC) put together a 9-3 scoring run, featuring five made free throws by Nelson Kirksey, to sneak ahead, 26-25, but Seattle U responded, scoring six unanswered points, four of them by Shore Adenekan (London, England), to pull ahead by five before a three-pointer by John Burke with 11 seconds left in the first half closed the Redhawk halftime lead to two at 31-29.
After Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) opened the second half scoring with a dunk, the Kangaroos rattled off seven straight points to regain the advantage, 36-33. A 7-2 Redhawk scoring run, capped by a Flora three-pointer, put Seattle U on top, 42-40, but Kansas City took the lead for good thanks to seven unanswered points, including a three-pointer by Frank Williams.
A jumper by Flora with 11:49 remaining in regulation pulled the Redhawks to within two, but Kirksey hit a three-pointer and Fred Chatmon converted on a dunk to extend the Kangaroo advantage back to seven at 52-45. Seattle U never got any closer than five points behind the rest of the way as Kansas City went 13-for-19 from the free throw line in the final four minutes to hold off the Redhawks.
“We did a good job in the first half, but wasn’t able to sustain it,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. “I credit them (UMKC) for continuing to pressure and compete. In the second half, we had our chances, but we were not able to capitalize.”
Flora hit five three-pointers to lead Seattle U with 19 points, while Chibuogwu contributed 12 points and six rebounds off the bench. Adenekan scored eight points and three other Redhawks contributed seven points apiece. Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.), the leading scorer in the WAC coming into the night, was held to one made three-pointer and six total points, snapping a streak of eight consecutive double-digit scoring efforts.
Five players scored in double figures for Kansas City, led by Williams with 16 points and Martez Harrison with 14 points. Kirksey collected 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Burke was perfect in the shooting department for 12 points and Isaac Kreuer added 10 points off the bench.
With the loss, Seattle U falls into a tie for seventh place in the WAC standings with Bakersfield and Texas-Pan American. The Redhawks will definitely wear the dark jerseys in their quarterfinal contest next Thursday, March 13, in the WAC Tournament, but they can still finish as high as the fifth seed or as low as the eighth seed.
Seattle University (13-15, 5-10 WAC) will finish out the regular season Saturday afternoon, March 8, against Chicago State starting at 2 p.m. local time (12 noon Pacific time). Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. will broadcast the game live on 770 AM KTTH, starting with the pregame show at 11:45 a.m.