Giving the night a retro flavor by wearing red uniforms that resemble the ones worn by the Seattle University basketball teams in the 1980s, the Redhawks played a strong game on both ends of the floor to defeat Northwest University, 84-58, Monday night in a non-conference men’s collegiate basketball game at the Connolly Center.
Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) shot 6-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-6 from behind the three-point line, and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line as he led Seattle U with a season-high 24 points, plus he collected six rebounds and four assists. Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) hit four three-pointers as he finished with 13 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Coming off the bench, Manroop Clair (Vancouver, B.C.) finished with 12 points and Jadon Cohee (Langley, B.C.) contributed 11 points and three assists.
“Offensively we moved the ball well and were able to create some inside-outside action. Defensively, we shifted well. It was good to play a smaller team that can shoot the ball, because it forces us to be solid in our zone over time against them. They had some success early, which put pressure on our guys to stick with the game plan and execute. It was a good test for us as we keep improving,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said.
Flora scored five of Seattle U’s first seven points of the game as the Redhawks jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but four points from Nemanja Grujicic capped a 7-2 Northwest run that tied the game at 9-9 seven minutes into the contest. Umipig hit a three-pointer to give Seattle U the lead for good, but Northwest hung tight until the Redhawks went on a 15-3 scoring run late in the first half, with Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.) scoring the first five points in the run and Flora capping it off with seven unanswered points.
Ahead 37-25 at halftime, Seattle U expanded the lead to 20 with a 14-6 stretch at the start of the second half, punctuated by a three-pointer from Clair. Umipig scored seven points during a 9-0 Redhawk run midway through the second half, and Seattle U would maintain its significant lead throughout the rest of the game.
As a team, Seattle U shot 50 percent (27-of-54) from the field, including 11-of-18 from behind the three-point line, and 67.9 percent (19-of-28) from the free throw line. The Redhawks won the rebounding battle, 43-26, led by Theo Turner (Middlesbrough, England) with 10 rebounds in a season-high 20 minutes on the floor.
Northwest was led by Dak Shagren and CJ Carter with 13 points and five rebounds apiece, while Grujicic collected 10 points and two blocked shots. The Eagles shot just 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the field, including 8-of-26 from behind the three-point line, and 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the free throw line.
Seattle University (5-5) heads to Minneapolis, Minn., to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers Friday, Dec. 19, starting at 7 p.m. local time (5 p.m. Pacific time). The game will be televised live by the Big Ten Network, and it will also be broadcast on 770 AM KTTH, with Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. providing the play-by-play description starting with the pregame show shortly before tipoff.
“This will be a great challenge for us, and it will also be a lot of fun,” Dollar added. “As a coach, I look forward to being in those historic venues and putting the team in that situation. I know the guys are also looking forward to that.”