RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Seattle U men's basketball led for more than 35 minutes, and by as many as 14, Friday night against Western Athletic Conference foe California Baptist. But the first of two games at the CBU Events Center to close out the regular season came down to the wire before the Redhawks escaped with an 80-79 win for their third straight Friday victory.
Playing a short bench of just seven players, Seattle U (11-9, 4-4 WAC) got a game-high 28 points and 40 minutes of action from Darrion Trammell. Nate Robinson added a career-high 18 points, Riley Grigsby had 14 points and Emeka Udenyi came one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
The Lancers (12-9, 5-6 WAC) also had four in double figures led by Tre Armstrong's 21 points. Gorjok Gas had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Elijah Thomas finished with 18 points and Ty Rowell added 16.
"Three straight years in this building it comes down to the last second, and we squeaked out the one-point win this time," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "We'll take it. I'm really happy for the guys to taste the road win tonight.
"Darrion had a really big night, Riley had a good night, Nate gave us some really big points and we out rebounded them," Hayford said. "We didn't take care of the ball like we needed to and made a few bad decisions that we're lucky didn't cost us the game in the final two minutes. And in this crazy year we'll go at it again tomorrow."
The Redhawks broke open an early back-and-forth affair midway through the first half courtesy a 13-4 surge. Grigsby would kick-start the run with a second-chance and-1. Following two Gak free throws, Trammell knocked down a pull-up three and Jared Pearre sunk a putback dunk to force a CBU timeout.
Gak would score again, but Trammell answered with another three, followed by a pair of free throws to open up a 34-22 advantage with 6:35 to play in the half. The Redhawk lead would extend to 14 twice before CBU knocked down the final two buckets of the frame and Seattle U took a 45-35 lead into the break.
The Lancers cut into Seattle U's lead early in the second, pulling within four, 48-44, at the 17:55 mark. A 6-0 Redhawk spurt sent the spread back to 12, 61-49, with 13:03 to play. But the Lancers would not go away, slowly knocking away at the lead.
Five straight points by Thomas cut it to 72-70 with 4:39 remaining. The two teams traded two free throws apiece before Udenyi scored two in the paint and Kobe Williamson hit a pair from the stripe, pushing the lead back to six, 78-72.
A Gak layup and Armstrong three cut it back to a one-point game, 78-77, with 2:33 to go. Grigsby scored his only points of the second half on a turnaround jumper in the paint, the blocked Rowell's shot attempt on the other end.
CBU's Gak would hit two from the charity stripe with 1:28 remaining to make it 80-79. Neither team would find the bottom of the net again and, following a missed front end of a one-and-one by Trammell, a half court heave at the buzzer from Armstrong would fall short.
The Redhawks shot 43 percent from the field, including 7-of-21 from three, while also hitting 19-of-25 from the charity stripe. The used 10 steals to force 15 CBU turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 36-24.
The regular season concludes tomorrow night as the Redhawks and Lancers go a second round to wrap up WAC play. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. at the CBU Events Center. The game will stream live on the WAC Digital Network and can also be heard on KTTH 770 AM and mynorthwest.com.
Stay connected with Seattle U men's basketball and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.
Playing a short bench of just seven players, Seattle U (11-9, 4-4 WAC) got a game-high 28 points and 40 minutes of action from Darrion Trammell. Nate Robinson added a career-high 18 points, Riley Grigsby had 14 points and Emeka Udenyi came one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
The Lancers (12-9, 5-6 WAC) also had four in double figures led by Tre Armstrong's 21 points. Gorjok Gas had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Elijah Thomas finished with 18 points and Ty Rowell added 16.
"Three straight years in this building it comes down to the last second, and we squeaked out the one-point win this time," said Head Coach Jim Hayford. "We'll take it. I'm really happy for the guys to taste the road win tonight.
"Darrion had a really big night, Riley had a good night, Nate gave us some really big points and we out rebounded them," Hayford said. "We didn't take care of the ball like we needed to and made a few bad decisions that we're lucky didn't cost us the game in the final two minutes. And in this crazy year we'll go at it again tomorrow."
FINAL | Seattle U 80, California Baptist 79
— The Western Athletic Conference (@WACsports) March 6, 2021
What a way to finish our #WACspotlight series this season! @seattleumbb picks up a big win on the road in Riverside! #WAChoops pic.twitter.com/Q1gPlDZD5V
The Redhawks broke open an early back-and-forth affair midway through the first half courtesy a 13-4 surge. Grigsby would kick-start the run with a second-chance and-1. Following two Gak free throws, Trammell knocked down a pull-up three and Jared Pearre sunk a putback dunk to force a CBU timeout.
Gak would score again, but Trammell answered with another three, followed by a pair of free throws to open up a 34-22 advantage with 6:35 to play in the half. The Redhawk lead would extend to 14 twice before CBU knocked down the final two buckets of the frame and Seattle U took a 45-35 lead into the break.
The Lancers cut into Seattle U's lead early in the second, pulling within four, 48-44, at the 17:55 mark. A 6-0 Redhawk spurt sent the spread back to 12, 61-49, with 13:03 to play. But the Lancers would not go away, slowly knocking away at the lead.
Five straight points by Thomas cut it to 72-70 with 4:39 remaining. The two teams traded two free throws apiece before Udenyi scored two in the paint and Kobe Williamson hit a pair from the stripe, pushing the lead back to six, 78-72.
A Gak layup and Armstrong three cut it back to a one-point game, 78-77, with 2:33 to go. Grigsby scored his only points of the second half on a turnaround jumper in the paint, the blocked Rowell's shot attempt on the other end.
CBU's Gak would hit two from the charity stripe with 1:28 remaining to make it 80-79. Neither team would find the bottom of the net again and, following a missed front end of a one-and-one by Trammell, a half court heave at the buzzer from Armstrong would fall short.
The Redhawks shot 43 percent from the field, including 7-of-21 from three, while also hitting 19-of-25 from the charity stripe. The used 10 steals to force 15 CBU turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 36-24.
Comments from @CoachHayford following tonight's 80-79 win at California Baptist.#TogetherWeSoar pic.twitter.com/g2RG4uOcUK
— Seattle U Men's Basketball (@seattleumbb) March 6, 2021
The regular season concludes tomorrow night as the Redhawks and Lancers go a second round to wrap up WAC play. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. at the CBU Events Center. The game will stream live on the WAC Digital Network and can also be heard on KTTH 770 AM and mynorthwest.com.
Stay connected with Seattle U men's basketball and get all the latest team updates by downloading the GoSeattleU mobile app available now for free in the App Store or Google Play.