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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On the road for fifth time in the first seven games of the Western Athletic Conference season, Seattle University men’s basketball had a lead slip away late in a 63-54 defeat to Kansas City Saturday night in the Swinney Recreation Center.
The Redhawks (13-9, 1-5 WAC) led 47-37 with 7:32 to play after shooting nearly 60 percent from the field in the frame. But a scoring drought would stall Seattle U and Kansas City would grind its way back into the game. A 13-3 run put the Roos in the lead with 4:03 to play and the home team would hit its final 12 free-throw opportunities to help seal the win.
Deploying the same six-man rotation as two nights previous, the shorthanded Redhawks got a game-high 22 points from Terrell Brown, including 18 in the second half. Myles Carter finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, doing most of his damage in the first half. Anand Hundal chipped in four points, seven rebounds and a career-high four blocks. Morgan Means had seven points and Ian Burke chipped in five.
Xavier Bishop led the Roos (8-13, 3-3 WAC) with 22 points while three others finished with 10 points apiece.
Both sides struggled to get flowing offensively in the first half, finishing the frame each shooting below 40 percent. The half featured two tie scores and six lead changes. A three pointer by Carter, just his second of the season, had the Redhawks leading 23-21 with 5:02 to play. The Roos would close out the half on a 5-1 spurt to take a 26-24 lead into the break.
The Redhawks opened the second half on fire as Carter scored twice early and Brown began to take over, scoring nine points to help build a 41-32 advantage with 13:35 to play.
A layup by Means and a jumper by Brown gave Seattle U its latest lead of the, 47-37, with 7:32 to play. But a 13-2 Roo run capped by a Rob Whitfield jumper gave the home team a lead it would not relinquish.
“It’s hard to fault guys who gave all their heart, but we stopped stopping them in that last eight minutes,” said Head Coach Jim Hayford. “We had some critical turnovers, critical missed shots and missed free throws and now a close game with three minutes to go got crazy fast and we have to be mentally tougher in that situation.
“And give credit to (UMKC), Xavier Bishop played like an all-conference player that last 8-10 minutes,” added Hayford. “He was really hard to guard and he took the game over on their end.”
The Roos would finish 14-19 from the charity stripe in the game, all coming in the second half, including 12-13 down the stretch. The Redhawks also suffered five turnovers late.
The Redhawks return home for their next two, beginning Saturday, Feb. 2 by hosting California Baptist to wrap up the first round of WAC play. Tip off from the Redhawk Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will stream live on the WAC Digital Network.