Seattle University shot the ball well from the field and stayed with Grand Canyon through most of Saturday’s regular season finale, but the Antelopes used a significant free throw shooting advantage and timely plays on both ends of the floor to defeat the Redhawks, 83-70, at the GCU Arena.
Seattle U finished the regular season tied for fourth in the Western Athletic Conference standings at 7-7, but the Redhawks will enter the WAC Tournament as the third seed and will face sixth-seeded Chicago State Thursday, March 12, at 7 p.m. at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) hit four three-pointers as he led the Redhawks with 23 points, while Jarell Flora (Bremerton, Wash.) went 8-for-11 from the field, including 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line, to end up with 20 points, and William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) went 4-for-5 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line to contribute 14 points along with five rebounds and two assists.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Umipig and Flora gave Seattle U an early 7-2 lead before Grand Canyon scored seven unanswered points to pull ahead, 9-7. Over the next three minutes, the Redhawks went on an 11-3 scoring run, punctuated by consecutive layups by Emerson Murray (Vancouver, B.C.), to take their biggest lead of the night at 18-12.
Grand Canyon (17-14, 8-6 WAC) answered with its own 10-2 scoring run, featuring five points by Royce Woolridge and a three-pointer from Jerome Garrison, to retake the lead at 22-20. After a jumper by Powell put the Redhawks back on top, 28-27, with seven minutes left in the first half, the Antelopes scored eight unanswered points, capped by a three-pointer by Daniel Alexander, to earn a 35-28 advantage with 4:39 left before halftime.
A three-pointer by Umipig and consecutive jumpers from Flora tied the game at 35-35 before Woolridge converted on a traditional three-point play. Seattle U once again pulled into a tie at 38-38 in the final minute and grabbed a defensive rebound, but Flora did not release his jumper that went in before the halftime buzzer sounded.
The first seven minutes of the second half went back-and-forth before Grand Canyon took the lead for good on a layup by Joshua Braun and another old-fashioned three-point play by Woolridge. The game remained tight for the next five minutes, with the Redhawks down by just three at 60-57 after Powell made two free throws, but the Antelopes scored six unanswered points over a two-minute span, four of them on free throws by Matt Jackson, and the home team would keep Seattle U at a distance the rest of the way.
Woolridge shot 8-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-3 from behind the three-point line, and 10-of-13 from the free throw line as he led all players with 28 points, while Braun finished with 16 points and five rebounds. Alexander contributed 11 points, and DeWayne Russell dished out seven assists to go along with his six points.
As a team, Seattle U shot 54 percent (27-of-50) from the field, including 8-of-20 from behind the three-point line, and 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the free throw line. On the other side, Grand Canyon shot 51.2 percent (22-of-43) from the field, including 6-of-17 from long distance, and 82.5 percent (33-of-40) from the free throw line. In addition, the Antelopes scored 20 points off 10 Redhawk turnovers, offsetting a 27-21 Seattle U rebounding advantage.
Seattle University (14-14, 7-7 WAC) swept the season series from Chicago State, defeating the Cougars 75-67 on Jan. 22 in Chicago and 57-31 on Feb. 21 at KeyArena. The game will be broadcast on 770 AM KTTH, with Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. calling the action from courtside at the Orleans Arena starting with the pregame show shortly before tipoff. The first round and semifinals of the WAC Basketball Tournament will be streamed by the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/watch), with the championship game to be televised by ESPNU Saturday, March 14, at 8 p.m.