LAS VEGAS – It was a disappointing end to a season unlike any other for Seattle U men's basketball as the Redhawks fell, 81-47, to top-seed Grand Canyon Friday night in the semifinals of the 2021 Hercules Tires Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
One night after one of their most convincing wins of the season, the Redhawks (12-11) could not duplicate the performance, as they shot just 28.3 percent from the field and just 4-of-26 from beyond the arc.
The Lopes (16-6), playing in their first game of the tournament after a first-round bye, hit a blistering 55 percent in the first half, carried a 49-27 lead into the break and were able to cruise in the second half.
Riley Grigsby finished with 15 points to lead Seattle U. Darrion Trammell added 12 points and Nate Robinson had seven. Battling foul trouble throughout, Emeka Udenyi finished with six points.
GCU saw 10 total players score, including three in double figures. Jovan Blacksher, Jr., had 15 points while Chance McMillian and Gabe McGlothan added 14 apiece.
"Credit Grand Canyon, they shot the ball very, very well," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "We started the game well, went on an 8-0 run and got their attention. Then they came back with force and our guys got rattled.
"When you take teams through these postseasons you need to get to a level that the program feels hungry to want more," Hayford said. "There are guys on the Grand Canyon team that have gotten through game. They want to win on the third night. We've gotten to this second night, now we have to get to the next night so that maybe the first night isn't so satisfying."
The Redhawks scored the first eight points of the game as Udenyi scored on a putback layup and Robinson drained a three, followed by an and-1. But the Lopes answered with an 8-0 run of their own, evening the score at the 16:28 mark. GCU then broke things open. Leading 13-12, the Lopes would go on a 15-2 run to open up a 28-14 advantage.
Trammell began to get going, scoring eight of the Redhawks final 12 points of the half, but Seattle U would go into the locker room down 49-27.
While Grigsby would score 10 of his game-high 15 points in the second half, the Redhawks could not get anything going to cut into the deficit. Both teams would empty their benches down the stretch.
"This team got better every week," said Hayford. "And so it's disappointing that we didn't play our best game of basketball tonight. But they got a winning record, they got to the semifinals, they got a season of basketball that took a lot of sacrifice from the administration, sports medicine staff, my staff, the strength and conditioning staff, just to make a season happen during a pandemic. I'm very, very grateful to all those people and I'm excited about where the program is going."
One night after one of their most convincing wins of the season, the Redhawks (12-11) could not duplicate the performance, as they shot just 28.3 percent from the field and just 4-of-26 from beyond the arc.
The Lopes (16-6), playing in their first game of the tournament after a first-round bye, hit a blistering 55 percent in the first half, carried a 49-27 lead into the break and were able to cruise in the second half.
Riley Grigsby finished with 15 points to lead Seattle U. Darrion Trammell added 12 points and Nate Robinson had seven. Battling foul trouble throughout, Emeka Udenyi finished with six points.
GCU saw 10 total players score, including three in double figures. Jovan Blacksher, Jr., had 15 points while Chance McMillian and Gabe McGlothan added 14 apiece.
"Credit Grand Canyon, they shot the ball very, very well," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "We started the game well, went on an 8-0 run and got their attention. Then they came back with force and our guys got rattled.
"When you take teams through these postseasons you need to get to a level that the program feels hungry to want more," Hayford said. "There are guys on the Grand Canyon team that have gotten through game. They want to win on the third night. We've gotten to this second night, now we have to get to the next night so that maybe the first night isn't so satisfying."
The Redhawks scored the first eight points of the game as Udenyi scored on a putback layup and Robinson drained a three, followed by an and-1. But the Lopes answered with an 8-0 run of their own, evening the score at the 16:28 mark. GCU then broke things open. Leading 13-12, the Lopes would go on a 15-2 run to open up a 28-14 advantage.
Trammell began to get going, scoring eight of the Redhawks final 12 points of the half, but Seattle U would go into the locker room down 49-27.
While Grigsby would score 10 of his game-high 15 points in the second half, the Redhawks could not get anything going to cut into the deficit. Both teams would empty their benches down the stretch.
"This team got better every week," said Hayford. "And so it's disappointing that we didn't play our best game of basketball tonight. But they got a winning record, they got to the semifinals, they got a season of basketball that took a lot of sacrifice from the administration, sports medicine staff, my staff, the strength and conditioning staff, just to make a season happen during a pandemic. I'm very, very grateful to all those people and I'm excited about where the program is going."
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Comments from @CoachHayford
— Seattle U Men's Basketball (@seattleumbb) March 13, 2021
reflecting on tonight's game and the season as the Redhawks close out the year in the WAC Tournament semifinals: https://t.co/ROQ3kdZCp1#TogetherWeSoar