For the second time over the past two weeks, Seattle University held its opponent to a historically low point total, as the Redhawks shut down the Chicago State offense on their way to a 57-31 victory over the Cougars Saturday night in a Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball game at KeyArena.
The 31-point total is the lowest allowed by Seattle University to a Division I team in the history of the SU basketball program, breaking the previous mark of 33 points set just two weeks ago when the Redhawks defeated Utah Valley, 55-33. Chicago State never held the lead in the game as Seattle U scored the first points and went wire-to-wire with the victory.
William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds, dished out three assists, and earned both a blocked shot and a steal. Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) also scored 11 points, plus he collected a team-high three steals, while Jadon Cohee (Langley, B.C.) and Emmanuel Chibuogwu (Seattle, Wash.) each finished with eight points and four rebounds off the bench.
“Tonight’s effort was led by our seniors, as they are dialed in and talking with each other. We did a good job of contesting their shots, scrapping for rebounds, plus we got a lot of deflections,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. “William has been big all year for us, and it’s good to see him continue his strong play. He is a big key to us not only scoring, but also rebounding.”
The Redhawks scored the first eight points of the game before Chicago State’s Sean Hill hit a three-pointer five minutes into the contest. Three of the Cougars’ first four field goals were three-pointers, including one from Montana Byrd to close the Redhawk lead to 18-11 with 5:55 remaining in the first half.
Seattle U would score 23 unanswered points as Chicago State went scoreless for the rest of the first half and the first 10:12 of the second half before Trayvon Palmer hit a three-pointer with 9:48 remaining in regulation. The teams traded points the rest of the way as the Redhawks cruised to their sixth conference win of the season and returned to the .500 mark with the victory.
Although he did not score any points, Emerson Murray (Vancouver, B.C.) ran the offense with precision as he dished out six assists to go along with five rebounds. As a team, Seattle U shot 55.3 percent (21-of-38) from the field, including 4-of-12 from behind the three-point line, and 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the free throw line.
Chicago State (6-22, 2-9 WAC) was led by Clarke Rosenberg with eight points, while Hill finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and two steals. The Cougars hit just 20.8 percent (10-of-48) of their field goal attempts, including 5-of-25 from behind the three-point line, and 54.5 percent (6-of-11) of their free throw attempts.
Seattle University (13-13, 6-6 WAC) closes out its home schedule next Saturday, Feb. 28, against the Bakersfield Roadrunners starting at 7:30 p.m. at KeyArena. It will be Senior Night, with Shore Adenekan (London, England), Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.), Murray, and Umipig being honored prior to the start of the game. The contest will be televised live by the American Sports Network, including KOMO-2, as well as broadcast on 770 AM KTTH with Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. Tickets for the game are on sale through Ticketmaster and the KeyArena Box Office.