In a game that featured seven ties and 18 lead changes, Seattle University pulled away in the extra session to defeat UC Davis, 80-75, Monday night in a non-conference men’s collegiate basketball game at KeyArena at Seattle Center.
Down 59-52 with 7:34 remaining in the second half, Seattle U put together a 13-2 scoring run over the next four minutes, with the Redhawks first making it a one-possession game by going 5-for-6 from the free throw line. Then, after two free throws by UC Davis’s Darius Graham, Manroop Clair (Vancouver, B.C.) made back-to-back three-pointers to give Seattle U a 65-61 advantage.
Josh Fox connected on consecutive jumpers to pull the Aggies into a 65-65 tie with two minutes left in regulation. After the teams exchanged empty possessions, Clair hit another three-pointer with 46 seconds left to put the Redhawks on top. However, Siler Schneider answered with his own three-pointer 10 seconds later to create another tie, and Fox tied up William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) with the possession arrow in UC Davis’s favor to create a turnover. Schneider’s three-point attempt to win the game was off target, sending the contest into overtime.
Fox hit a jumper eight seconds into the overtime period, but Jack Crook (Manchester, England) scored the next five points to put the Redhawks on top, 73-70. Powell scored Seattle U’s next four points, and Malik Montoya (Federal Way, Wash.) answered a Graham three-pointer with a layup with 22 seconds left in the extra session. UC Davis was unable to score another point the rest of the way, clinching the victory for the Redhawks.
“I am proud of the guys, as they kept fighting all night. We talked about toughness, worked on toughness in practice, and went over it in film, so it was good to see that toughness show, especially when we were facing adversity. We got some big stops down the stretch, and that is what it takes to get it done,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said.
Clair tied his career high for made three-pointers with six as he led the Redhawks with 19 points, while Powell shot 6-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line to finish with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Brendan Westendorf (Auburn, Wash.) contributed 14 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and three steals, and Montoya added 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals to the winning effort.
Seattle U took a 5-1 lead after two minutes of action, but UC Davis scored five straight points to create the first of the 18 lead changes. The Redhawks answered right back with six straight points on consecutive traditional three-point plays, but UC Davis scored six unanswered points on three-pointers by Graham and Rogers Printup before the two teams started trading baskets.
After a three-pointer by Georgi Funtarov, Seattle U scored seven unanswered points on a three-pointer by Westendorf and a four-point play from Clair. The Redhawks would take a 36-32 lead into the locker room at halftime, shooting 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field.
The Redhawks scored the first five points of the second half to take their biggest lead of the night at 41-32, and then, after five straight Aggie points, Clair made another three-pointer to extend the Seattle U lead to 44-37 four minutes into the second half. UC Davis responded with an 18-3 scoring run over the next six minutes, establishing its biggest lead of the night at 55-47 with 9:41 left in the second half.
UC Davis (4-7) was led by Fox, who shot 8-of-14 from the field as he finished with 18 points, while Schneider earned 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists. As a team, the Aggies shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from the field, including 9-of-23 from behind the three-point line, and 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from the free throw line.
Seattle U won the rebounding battle, 35-32, and scored 25 points off 18 UC Davis turnovers, while the Aggies were able to score 20 points off 21 Redhawk turnovers. The Redhawks won an overtime game for the first time since Feb. 11, 2012, when they defeated Longwood, 100-99.
Seattle University (6-7) closes out the regular season non-conference schedule Wednesday, Dec. 30, against UC Santa Barbara starting at 7 p.m. at KeyArena. Tickets for the game are available through Ticketmaster or the KeyArena Box Office during normal business hours. The Gauchos defeated the Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena Monday night, 83-78.