Seattle University got off to a roaring start and kept Chicago State at a distance the rest of the afternoon, as the Redhawks defeated the Cougars, 66-50, Saturday in a Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball game at the Jones Convocation Center.
Seattle U took an early 11-1 lead, led by Brendan Westendorf (Auburn, Wash.) with two three-pointers, and then followed a three-pointer by Chicago State’s Clemmye Owens with six unanswered points scored by the British big men Jack Crook (Manchester, England) and Aaron Menzies (Manchester, England).
After Owens made a layup, the Redhawks put together a 10-1 scoring run, starting with a three-pointer by Manroop Clair (Vancouver, Wash.) and including four points from Emmanuel Chibuogwu (Seattle, Wash.). Westendorf hit a layup on Seattle U’s final possession of the first half to give the Redhawks a 34-15 halftime advantage, the fewest points Seattle U has given up in one half of any game so far this season.
Jadon Cohee (Langley, B.C.) hit two three-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half to increase the Redhawk lead to 42-20. A jumper by Crook with six minutes left in the second half gave the Redhawks their biggest lead of the game at 55-31, and Seattle U was on its way to the conference victory.
“We came out right away, competed, and made some shots early. Most important, we stayed with it. We were really good defensively throughout the game, and we were able to finish it. A lot of contributions from a lot of guys, making good passes and being strong with the ball, and I am pleased with the overall team effort,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar.
Crook and Cohee each finished with 12 points to lead the Redhawks, while Westendorf collected 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Clair made at least three three-pointers for the 10th straight game as he scored nine points, William Powell (Huntsville, Ala.) contributed seven points, eight rebounds, and four assists, and Chibuogwu added six points, four rebounds, and five assists to the winning effort.
Chicago State (4-13, 0-1 WAC) was led by Anthony Eaves, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half after the game was already out of reach. For the game, the Cougars shot 32.7 percent from the field (18-of-55), including 5-of-24 from behind the three-point line, and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the free throw line.
The Redhawks made 46.3 percent of their field goal attempts (19-of-41), including 7-of-12 from behind the three-point line, and 74.1 percent of their free throw attempts (20-of-27). Seattle U won the rebounding battle, 36-27, as it picked up its first conference victory of the season and its first road win since defeating Chicago State in the same building, 75-67, on Jan. 22, 2015.
Seattle University (7-9, 1-1 WAC) heads back to Seattle and begins a three-game homestand next Saturday, Jan. 16, against CSU Bakersfield starting at 7:30 p.m. at KeyArena. The game will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network as well as on 770 AM KTTH. Tickets for all remaining Redhawk home games are available through Ticketmaster or the KeyArena Box Office during normal business hours.