The Seattle University men’s basketball team could not advance any further in the 2016 Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, losing in Friday night’s semifinal game to CSU Bakersfield, 72-47, at the Orleans Arena.
Brendan Westendorf (Auburn, Wash.) scored the first four points of the game, and Jack Crook (Manchester, England) followed with a traditional three-point play as Seattle U took a 7-0 lead just over two minutes into the game. CSU Bakersfield responded with a 14-4 scoring run over the next six minutes to take a 14-11 advantage, but a Westendorf three-pointer with nine minutes remaining in the first half tied the game at 18-18.
CSU Bakersfield (23-8) took the lead for good on a jumper by Kevin Mays, and then the Roadrunners scored 11 unanswered points, eight of them by Mays, to extend their lead to 35-20 late in the first half. Crook hit two free throws in the final minute to snap the CSUB run, but a made free throw by Mays gave the Roadrunners a 36-22 lead at halftime.
Jake Spurgeon (Sherwood, Ore.) hit a three-pointer to open the scoring in the second half, but CSUB responded with a 12-3 run over a seven-minute span to extend its lead to 20 at 48-28. Jadon Cohee (Langley, B.C.) hit a three-pointer and Manroop Clair (Vancouver, B.C.) made a layup to cut into the Roadrunner lead, but consecutive three-pointers by Dedrick Basile and Damiyne Durham allowed the Roadrunners to regain their momentum, which they carried the rest of the way.
"I thought we came out with great energy and tried to get off to a great start. But they (CSU Bakersfield) withstood that and took us out of everything we wanted to do offensively. I was pleased with our guys for continuing to fight even on a night when things did not go our way," Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said.
Cohee was the only Redhawk to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points, while Westendorf earned nine points and five rebounds and Crook contributed seven points, five rebounds, and two steals. As a team, Seattle U shot 33.3 percent (15-of-45) from the field and 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the free throw line. The Redhawks did win the rebounding battle, 33-31, including 14 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second chance points.
The Roadrunners shot 46.9 percent (23-of-49) from the field, including 11-of-18 from behind the three-point line, and 60.0 percent (15-of-25) from the free throw line. Mays led CSUB with 18 points, six rebounds, and five steals, while Jaylin Airington (16 points), Basile (12 points), and Durham (11 points) all used the three-point shot to accumulate their points.
Seattle University holds a 14-16 record in the 2015-16 season, including a 7-7 record within the WAC regular season, finishing in fourth place in the league standings. The selections to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT), and the new Vegas 16 Tournament will be announced later Sunday night after the fields for the NCAA Tournament and National Invitational Tournament (NIT) are set.