The defense for Seattle University buckled down in the second half, and the Redhawks cut down on their mistakes after halftime as they defeated the Argonauts of the University of Great Falls, 58-48, Wednesday night in a non-conference men’s collegiate basketball game at the ShoWare Center.
Ahead by one point five minutes into the game, Seattle U scored nine unanswered points, starting with a three-pointer from Manroop Clair (Vancouver, B.C.) and including four points from Aaron Menzies (Manchester, England), to extend its lead to 19-9. Great Falls answered right back, scoring nine straight points over the next four minutes, featuring two jumpers by Issac Howard, to close its deficit back to one at 19-18.
The teams would trade baskets for the next several minutes, with a tip-in by Jack Crook (Manchester, England) giving Seattle U a 27-25 advantage with 4:29 remaining in the first half. The Argonauts would hold the Redhawks scoreless for the rest of the half, with baskets by Daniel Arcau and Lamar Falley giving the visitors a 29-27 lead at halftime.
Seattle U scored the first five points of the second half, retaking the lead on a layup by Crook. Howard hit a three-pointer with 13:11 left in the second half to bring the Argonauts to within three at 39-36, but the Redhawks went on a 12-0 scoring run over the next five minutes to open a double-digit lead, where it would remain for the rest of the game.
Crook once again led the Redhawks with 16 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots, while William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) contributed 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Jadon Cohee (Langley, B.C.) finished with nine points and six rebounds, and Menzies contributed nine points and five rebounds to the winning effort.
“In the first half, we opened a good lead, but they started to press us, we sped up a little bit, and we got loose with some of our possessions,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said. “In the second half, even as they still pressed us, we executed our game plan, and then locked down on defense to finish strong. Overall, I was very pleased with how we handled the adversity tonight.”
Great Falls used a variety of players, as 11 men played at least 10 minutes for the Argonauts. Nobody reached double figures in scoring, with Howard leading the way with nine points. After hitting 42.9 percent (12-of-28) of its first-half field goal attempts, Great Falls was held to 24.1 percent (7-of-29) field goal shooting in the second half.
The Redhawks finished the game shooting 44.9 percent (22-of-49) from the field, including 3-of-8 from behind the three-point line, and 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from the free throw line. Seattle U enjoyed a 39-32 rebounding edge, but did commit 20 turnovers, 14 of them in the first half, as the Argonauts scored 20 points off Redhawk turnovers.
Seattle University (2-3) heads to Berkeley, Calif., next week to face the California Golden Bears Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m. Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. will broadcast the game live from Haas Pavilion on 770 AM KTTH, starting with the pregame show shortly before tipoff. The game will also be broadcast on the PAC-12 Network, with Ted Robinson and Steve Lavin slated for the telecast.