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KENT, Wash. – Seattle University men's basketball earned a thrilling 73-71 decision over the University of Portland in a game that came down to the free-throw line at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent Saturday night. The Redhawks pushed their win streak to four games with NBA legend and SU alum Elgin Baylor in attendance.
Both Seattle U (6-5) and Portland (6-3) found themselves in the bonus in the final stretch, forcing the final minute to come down to a shootout at the charity stripe. Myles Carter went 1-2 at the line to inch the Redhawks ahead by two, 73-71, with 12.8 ticks to play. With no timeouts, the Pilots squeezed past a shot on the baseline to tie the game, however came up just short as the final buzzer sounded at the Elgin Baylor Classic.
UP went 14-24 at the free-throw line in the second half, going 57 percent on the night.
"We're certainly grateful to get the win over Portland," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "Fortunately, they had a pretty tough night at the free-throw line as well, so the basketball gods really shined on us there."
Seattle U came into the night on a three-game winning streak, outscoring their opponents by an average of 20 points in their last two games.
Three Redhawks finished in double-figures led by a double-double from Terrell Brown with 20 points and 10 rebounds followed by Morgan Means with 18 points. Delante Jones nailed a go-ahead three with 4:00 to play to finished with 16 points on the night, and give the Redhawks a pivotal 65-63 advantage.
"Both Morgan and Delante had really big nights," said Hayford. "They've been frustrated with some of their play recently, but they keep coming to the gym and working and it's great to see them rewarded with really good games tonight."
The flood gates opened for SU following the three from Jones. The Redhawks jumpstarted a 7-4 run seeing Means and Brown find open shots to push the SU lead to 72-67. A three-pointer from Portland's Ferebee cut the deficit to two to put the fate of the game at the free-throw line.
Shots from beyond-the-arc from Jones and Means did the job of halting a 5-0 run by Portland to start the second half and maintain the SU lead. Jones contributed three triples in the second half.
Brown put up a personal 8-0 run midway through the second frame to keep the game just out of reach for the visitors. Portland eventually put up a 6-0 burst of its own with 7:28 to play to knot the score at 56 apiece.
The mid-range shot came to the aid of the Redhawks early in the game, with Means finding early success dishing to the cutting Brown and Mattia Da Campo under the hoop. The senior guard tacked on nine points in the opening five and a half minutes along with a couple of steals to get the Redhawk offense flowing.
Seattle U forced the Pilots into nine first-half turnovers to put Portland out of an offensive rhythm. The visitors eventually re-took control, hitting three triples on three consecutive possessions to take a 20-19 lead with 10:55 on the clock. However, a three from Dallas would spark a 9-3 run that regained the lead for SU, 30-21 with 6:00 to play in the opening frame.
The Redhawks capped off a tightly contested first half on a 5-0 spurt, powered solely by Brown, to take 37-31 lead into the halftime break.
"Every time we had a huddle or a free-throw, we'd come together and say 'Let's finish, let's finish', and some of the shots didn't go in but we didn't lose the faith," said Means postgame.
Seattle U takes a 10-day game break before taking on cross-town rival Washington on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at the Alaska Airlines Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.