BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Seattle U Men's Basketball closed out its Western Athletic Conference road swing with a thrilling 86-79 win at CSU Bakersfield Saturday night at the Icardo Center.
The Redhawks (11-11, 4-3 WAC) led for more than 30 minutes and utilized a strong second half surge along with free-throw shooting late to earn their first win in Bakersfield since the 2010-11 season.
Terrell Brown paced four Redhawks who scored in double-figures, finishing with 21 points, including 17 in the second half. Morgan Means added 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for his first career point-rebound double-double. Mattia Da Campo added 14 points and Riley Grigsby chipped in 13.
"Our guys deserved this one," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "And to pull away in a close game - we've had some many of these close ones and we've had some tough luck. I'm really proud of our guys tonight."
Tied 69-69 with 3:11 remaining, the Redhawks took over. Da Campo sank a runner in the lane to break the tie, then Brown came up with a huge steal on the ensuing 'Runner possession, leading to a Da Campo three for a 74-69 lead.
A Czar Perry layup halted the spurt, but Brown responded with a tough layup through traffic and Means followed with a layup of his own to open up a seven-point, 78-71, lead with 46 ticks on the clock.
Justin Elder-Davis hit a turnaround jumper in the paint for the 'Runners with 33 seconds remaining, but Means and Brown would go a combined 8-8 from the charity stripe to seal the win.
"We shot the ball well and we took care of the ball," Hayford said. "It wasn't our best defensive game, but we really came up big on our possessions those last four minutes. We were just a little bit better at the end and we had a really nice balanced attack."
Mixing up the starting lineup with Jordan Dallas and Da Campo, along with Brown, Means and Aaron Nettles, the Redhawks got off to a hot start with threes from Dallas and Means. Neither team would lead by more than four in a back-and-forth 20 minutes.
Trailing by one with one final possession, Nettles found Da Campo in the paint for a turnaround bank shot to give Seattle U a 32-31 lead headed into the locker room.
The Redhawks slowly added to the spread as the second half began. A top-of-the-key three by Anand Hundal with 13:40 on the clock opened the largest lead of the night, 52-43.
Bakersfield (10-11, 4-2 WAC) would not go quietly, however, piecing together a 6-1 spurt to pull within four, 53-49, with 11:29 to play.
The teams would trade four lead changes and four tie scores in the second frame.
Seattle U finished the night shooting better than 47 percent from the field, including 56 percent in the second half.
The Redhawks return home next week, wrapping up the first round of WAC play on Saturday, Feb. 1, hosting California Baptist at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash. Tip off is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will stream live on the WAC Digital Network.
The Redhawks (11-11, 4-3 WAC) led for more than 30 minutes and utilized a strong second half surge along with free-throw shooting late to earn their first win in Bakersfield since the 2010-11 season.
Terrell Brown paced four Redhawks who scored in double-figures, finishing with 21 points, including 17 in the second half. Morgan Means added 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for his first career point-rebound double-double. Mattia Da Campo added 14 points and Riley Grigsby chipped in 13.
"Our guys deserved this one," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "And to pull away in a close game - we've had some many of these close ones and we've had some tough luck. I'm really proud of our guys tonight."
Tied 69-69 with 3:11 remaining, the Redhawks took over. Da Campo sank a runner in the lane to break the tie, then Brown came up with a huge steal on the ensuing 'Runner possession, leading to a Da Campo three for a 74-69 lead.
A Czar Perry layup halted the spurt, but Brown responded with a tough layup through traffic and Means followed with a layup of his own to open up a seven-point, 78-71, lead with 46 ticks on the clock.
Justin Elder-Davis hit a turnaround jumper in the paint for the 'Runners with 33 seconds remaining, but Means and Brown would go a combined 8-8 from the charity stripe to seal the win.
"We shot the ball well and we took care of the ball," Hayford said. "It wasn't our best defensive game, but we really came up big on our possessions those last four minutes. We were just a little bit better at the end and we had a really nice balanced attack."
Mixing up the starting lineup with Jordan Dallas and Da Campo, along with Brown, Means and Aaron Nettles, the Redhawks got off to a hot start with threes from Dallas and Means. Neither team would lead by more than four in a back-and-forth 20 minutes.
Trailing by one with one final possession, Nettles found Da Campo in the paint for a turnaround bank shot to give Seattle U a 32-31 lead headed into the locker room.
The Redhawks slowly added to the spread as the second half began. A top-of-the-key three by Anand Hundal with 13:40 on the clock opened the largest lead of the night, 52-43.
Bakersfield (10-11, 4-2 WAC) would not go quietly, however, piecing together a 6-1 spurt to pull within four, 53-49, with 11:29 to play.
The teams would trade four lead changes and four tie scores in the second frame.
Seattle U finished the night shooting better than 47 percent from the field, including 56 percent in the second half.
The Redhawks return home next week, wrapping up the first round of WAC play on Saturday, Feb. 1, hosting California Baptist at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash. Tip off is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game will stream live on the WAC Digital Network.