Thanks to a combination of tough defense against one of the highest scoring teams in the country and improved offensive output in the second half, Seattle University earned a 58-52 victory over Eastern Washington Monday night in a non-conference men’s collegiate basketball game at KeyArena at Seattle Center.
Four Redhawks reached double figures in scoring, led by senior Jack Crook (Manchester, England) with 17 points and eight rebounds. William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) and Brendan Westendorf (Kent, Wash.) each earned 10 points and seven rebounds, with Westendorf also dishing out six assists, and Jadon Cohee (Langley, B.C.) also finished with 10 points.
Down 39-34 halfway through the second half, Seattle U erased that deficit in the next minute, first with a steal and layup by Malik Montoya (Federal Way, Wash.), and then on a three-pointer by Cohee. Sir Washington hit a jumper to put the Eagles back on top, 42-40, but three Redhawk free throws and a traditional three-point play from Crook gave Seattle U the lead, 46-44, with 5:46 remaining in regulation.
Bogdan Bliznyuk hit a jumper to tie the game, but Westendorf responded with his own traditional three-point play. Eastern Washington answered that with a three-pointer by Austin McBroom, and then again with 2:57 left in the second half when Bliznyuk hit a three-pointer to cause the 12th tie of the game at 52-52.
After both teams missed opportunities in the next two minutes, Crook converted on a layup while being fouled, and then made the free throw to give Seattle U another three-point advantage at 55-52 with 48 seconds left in regulation. The Eagles turned the ball over, leading to a made free throw by Crook, and then Montoya executed another steal and fast-break layup to seal Seattle U’s first victory of the season.
“Even without the ‘W’, I know the guys got better tonight, but it’s nice to have the ‘W’ to validate that improvement,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. “I am very pleased with how we executed our defensive game plan, as we not only limited them to one shot, but then we went after it on the boards.”
Once again, Aaron Menzies (Manchester, England) made a significant contribution off the bench, collecting seven points and eight rebounds. As a team, the Redhawks shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the field, including 56 percent (14-of-25) after halftime, plus they were able to earn 30 free throw attempts in the game while limiting the Eagles to just five attempts from the charity stripe.
Eastern Washington (2-2) was led by Venky Jois, who finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and five blocked shots, while Bliznyuk earned 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals. The Eagles were held to 38.5 percent (20-of-52) shooting from the field, including 9-of-29 from behind the three-point line, plus they committed 18 turnovers, the most by a Redhawk opponent this season.
The Eagles took a 17-10 lead with 7:14 remaining in the first half on a three-pointer by Will Ferris, but Seattle U scored the next nine points over a five-minute span, capped by a tip-in from Westendorf, to pull ahead, 19-17. Eastern Washington scored the final five points of the first half on a jumper and a three-pointer by McBroom to take a 22-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Seattle University (1-3) will face the University of Great Falls Wednesday, Nov. 25, at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash., starting at 7 p.m. Gary Hill Jr. will broadcast the game live on 770 AM KTTH, starting with the pregame show shortly before tipoff.