SEATTLE – Powered by dominating starts to each half, 19 forced turnovers and free-throw shooting down the stretch, Seattle U men's basketball took down Western Athletic Conference leader Grand Canyon, 63-57, Friday night at the Redhawk Center.
The win moved the Redhawks to 10-8 on the season and an even 3-3 in WAC play. The Lopes drop to 13-5 overall and 7-2 in league action. A defensive battle out of the gates, Darrion Trammell scored the first points of the night on a pair of free throws at the 17:43 mark. Seattle U would hold the Lopes without a point for more than six minutes before Alessandro Lever finally broke the ice with a putback bucket with 13:48 on the clock.
A three by Nate Robinson and jumper by Riley Grigsby pushed the Redhawks' lead to 16-6 with 8:10 remaining in the frame. GCU would follow with a 12-2 run to tie the score, 18-18. The Lopes would lead 23-19 before six late points from Trammell, including a three with six seconds remaining, would have the Redhawks trailing one, 26-25, at the break.
The Redhawks opened the second half much like the first, rolling off 10 straight points including a pair of threes from Williamson to open up a 35-26 lead three minutes in. GCU would hit its first bucket of the game at the 14:31 mark, but Seattle U answered with a 7-0 spurt to lead 42-28 with 12:49 to play.
Up 46-30 with just under 12 minutes remaining, Lever took over for the Lopes. He hit back-to-back threes, converted two straight and-one plays and knocked down a third three, trimming Seattle U's lead to just three, 53-50, with 5:53 to go.
"This was a good win," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "Lever was special, he willed them back into the game. And Midtgaard is the real deal. We knew they wanted to go to them, we knew they would keep going to them, we knew we could force turnovers with good team defense. And the story of the game was we had nine turnovers, they had 19."
Two Robinson free throws pushed it back to a two-possession game, before Midtgaard put home back-to-back dunks and the lead was just one, 55-54 with 3:15 remaining.
Trammell would connect on a jumper and Udenyi hit one of two free throws to make it 58-54 Redhawks with 2:31 to play. A defensive stop resulting in a missed Lever three put pause in the Lopes' late surge and Seattle U hit six straight free throws in the final 13 seconds to preserve the win.
Trammell finished with 17 points and seven assists while Williamson added a season-high 14 points, including 12 in the second half. Grigsby chipped in 13 points and Robinson gave the Redhawks four in double figures with 10. Emeka Udenyi finished with 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, to go with seven points.
Lever led all players with 24 points, 20 in the second frame. Asbjorn Midtgaard collected a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Lopes.
The Redhawks and Lopes complete the two-game series with another 6 p.m. tip in the Redhawk Center on Saturday. The game will stream live on ESPN+ and can be heard on KTTH 770 AM and mynorthwest.com.
The win moved the Redhawks to 10-8 on the season and an even 3-3 in WAC play. The Lopes drop to 13-5 overall and 7-2 in league action. A defensive battle out of the gates, Darrion Trammell scored the first points of the night on a pair of free throws at the 17:43 mark. Seattle U would hold the Lopes without a point for more than six minutes before Alessandro Lever finally broke the ice with a putback bucket with 13:48 on the clock.
A three by Nate Robinson and jumper by Riley Grigsby pushed the Redhawks' lead to 16-6 with 8:10 remaining in the frame. GCU would follow with a 12-2 run to tie the score, 18-18. The Lopes would lead 23-19 before six late points from Trammell, including a three with six seconds remaining, would have the Redhawks trailing one, 26-25, at the break.
The Redhawks opened the second half much like the first, rolling off 10 straight points including a pair of threes from Williamson to open up a 35-26 lead three minutes in. GCU would hit its first bucket of the game at the 14:31 mark, but Seattle U answered with a 7-0 spurt to lead 42-28 with 12:49 to play.
Up 46-30 with just under 12 minutes remaining, Lever took over for the Lopes. He hit back-to-back threes, converted two straight and-one plays and knocked down a third three, trimming Seattle U's lead to just three, 53-50, with 5:53 to go.
"This was a good win," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "Lever was special, he willed them back into the game. And Midtgaard is the real deal. We knew they wanted to go to them, we knew they would keep going to them, we knew we could force turnovers with good team defense. And the story of the game was we had nine turnovers, they had 19."
Postgame comments from @CoachHayford following tonight's win over GCU ??https://t.co/38kXxd7mNR#TogetherWeSoar
— Seattle U Men's Basketball (@seattleumbb) February 27, 2021
Two Robinson free throws pushed it back to a two-possession game, before Midtgaard put home back-to-back dunks and the lead was just one, 55-54 with 3:15 remaining.
Trammell would connect on a jumper and Udenyi hit one of two free throws to make it 58-54 Redhawks with 2:31 to play. A defensive stop resulting in a missed Lever three put pause in the Lopes' late surge and Seattle U hit six straight free throws in the final 13 seconds to preserve the win.
Trammell finished with 17 points and seven assists while Williamson added a season-high 14 points, including 12 in the second half. Grigsby chipped in 13 points and Robinson gave the Redhawks four in double figures with 10. Emeka Udenyi finished with 10 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, to go with seven points.
A highlight kinda night ??#TogetherWeSoar pic.twitter.com/RAbCx7V9kN
— Seattle U Men's Basketball (@seattleumbb) February 27, 2021
Lever led all players with 24 points, 20 in the second frame. Asbjorn Midtgaard collected a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Lopes.
The Redhawks and Lopes complete the two-game series with another 6 p.m. tip in the Redhawk Center on Saturday. The game will stream live on ESPN+ and can be heard on KTTH 770 AM and mynorthwest.com.