SEATTLE – Terrell Brown became the second Redhawk this season to surpass 1,000 career points as Seattle University men's basketball earned a 95-89 Western Athletic Conference win over visiting Grand Canyon Thursday night in the Redhawk Center.
The redshirt junior from Seattle floated a six-footer with 5:44 remaining in the game to earn the milestone and join teammate Morgan Means as two of four players to reach the 1,000-point marker in the modern-day Division I era. Brown finished with a 31-point, 10-assist double-double to pace the Redhawks. Riley Grigsby added a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double while Mattia Da Campo chipped in 12 points. Brown's points mark tied his career high while Grigsby's total was a career-high for the sophomore.
"If there's anyone that deserves his 1,000th point in a win, it's Terrell," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "He's a winner, it's all he cares about."
Seattle U (13-14, 6-6 WAC) led nearly wire-to-wire, but a late rally from the Lopes made things interesting with under five to play on the night. GCU (12-13, 7-5 WAC) cut the Redhawk advantage to just five, 80-75, seeing 4:25 on the clock. Alessandro Lever hit two threes and got the visitors into the bonus, turning up the intensity at the Redhawk Center in crunch time.
With just 90 ticks to go, GCU's Mikey Dixon hit a 10-foot floater to pull GCU within two, 88-86. To counter, Grigsby would nail his fourth three of the contest to send the SU faithful on their feet. Grigsby shot 4-6 from three-point land on the evening. Means on the ensuing possession would be fouled on a made layup, however would hit the back iron on the following free-throw.
Means, fouled intentionally after recovering a missed GCU jumper on the next play, hit both shots from the charity stripe to ice the game with under 20 seconds remaining. Means finished with 11 points to round out four Redhawks in double figures.
"I'm super happy for the guys," said Hayford. "Riley really had an amazing half of basketball and a big three there at the end."
A key to SU's success came from second-chance points. Though tight in the offensive rebounding column, Seattle U outscored Grand Canyon 19-12 in put-back points to keep SU's offense flowing.
Seattle U exploded out of the opening tip with a 13-2 run with 13:54 on the clock powered by physical play in the paint. Grigsby used the mismatch to his advantage to give the Redhawks early breathing room, hitting floater after floater from three feet out. The sophomore forward tacked on 19 first-half points, including three triples to keep the Lopes at bay.
Jordan Dallas and Da Campo smothered the Lopes in the key, forcing the visitors to shoot. Sticky defense from the SU backcourt in Brown and Means caused GCU 2-9 shooting from the field in the opening six minutes to establish a 17-6 gap in favor of the home team.
The Redhawks silenced a 10-5 spurt from the Lopes that narrowed the lead to 47-42 late in the first with hot three-point shooting. The Redhawks finished 8-16 from beyond the arch in the first half, highlighted by a 25-footer from Aaron Nettles in the closing seconds to gift Seattle U a 54-42 lead going into halftime. Nettles later hit SU's 10th triple of night with 9:36 to play in the second half, capping off a 11-28 long-distance shooting night for the Redhawks.
SU carried the offensive intensity into the second half. Following some back-and-forth action to start the new frame, Brown continued wreaking havoc off the penetration dribble. Scoring 31 points in the two sides' last matchup in Phoenix on Jan. 23, the Seattle native shot 10-19 from the field, 2-4 from three and 9-10 from the free-throw line on his way to another 31-point outing.
"When you think about a player getting 31 points and 10 assists, it really shows you what kind of special player he is," said Hayford. "All he's about is 'Let's just win, let's just win.'"
The Redhawks kept Grand Canyon just under 40 percent field-goal shooting in the opening 20 minutes, 35 percent on the night.
Seattle U looks for WAC win number seven Saturday, Feb. 22 in a weekend showdown against CSU Bakersfield. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.