Seattle University held a double-digit lead midway through the second half, but the University of Montana fought back and eventually pulled ahead for the 66-62 victory in the second game of the Marv Harshman Classic Sunday night at KeyArena.
Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) led the Redhawks with 17 points, including three three-pointers, plus he dished out four assists. Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) earned 10 points, four rebounds, and five assists, and William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) contributed seven points, eight rebounds, and two steals.
Taking a one-point lead into the second half, the Redhawks scored the first eight points after halftime, starting with consecutive three-pointers by Umipig. After a dunk by Mario Dunn and a three-pointer from Brandon Gfeller cut the Seattle U lead to four, the Redhawks went on an 8-2 scoring run, capped by a layup by Jadon Cohee (Langley, B.C.), to take their biggest lead of the night at 49-39 with 11:18 remaining in the second half.
Montana (1-2) immediately pulled to within four on three-pointers by Gfeller and Dunn, and then the Grizzlies would score seven unanswered points on a three-pointer by Jermaine Edmonds, a dunk by Martin Breunig, and a layup by Mike Weisner to take the lead at 54-53. Umipig scored four straight points to put the Redhawks back on top, 59-56, with 3:13 left in regulation, but a layup by Jordan Gregory and a three-pointer by Gfeller gave the Grizzlies a 61-60 advantage with 2:09 to go in the second half.
Seattle U had a chance to take the lead back on its next possession, but a turnover ended that opportunity. Montana was able to hold on for the victory thanks to Dunn going 3-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds and Breunig converting on a breakaway layup.
“They (Montana) kept fighting, plus we had some turnovers. When the game got tight, I think we got a little tight,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. “The bottom line is we have to learn how to finish and get the win.”
Breunig finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Gfeller went 5-for-6 from behind the three-point line to earn his 15 points. Dunn contributed 13 points, three assists, and three steals as the Grizzlies shot 46.2 percent from the field (24-of-52), including 8-of-20 from behind the three-point line, and 62.5 percent from the free throw line (10-of-16).
As a team, the Redhawks shot 47.9 percent from the field (23-of-48), including 5-of-14 from long distance, and 61.1 percent from the free throw line (11-of-18). The teams were even in rebounds at 28 apiece and turnovers with 13 each, with Montana taking better advantage of turnovers by a slight margin, 16 points to 13 points for Seattle U.
Seattle University (1-3) hosts Cal State Northridge at KeyArena next Saturday, Nov. 29, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets for all remaining Redhawk home basketball games at KeyArena are available by contacting Ticketmaster or by visiting the KeyArena Box Office.