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GAME PREVIEW: MBB vs. California Baptist

SEATTLE – Seattle U men's basketball (9-4, 0-0 WAC) returns home from Hawaii to open Western Athletic Conference play at home, hosting California Baptist (8-6, 0-1 WAC) on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 3 p.m. in the Redhawk Center. The game will broadcast live on ESPN+ and can also be hear over the airwaves on KXSU 102.1 FM in Seattle or kxsu.org.

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GAME PREVIEW: MBB vs. California BaptistGAME PREVIEW: MBB vs. California Baptist

SEATTLE – Seattle U men's basketball (9-4, 0-0 WAC) returns home from Hawaii to open Western Athletic Conference play at home, hosting California Baptist (8-6, 0-1 WAC) on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 3 p.m. in the Redhawk Center. The game will broadcast live on ESPN+ and can also be hear over the airwaves on KXSU 102.1 FM in Seattle or kxsu.org.

FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS

QUICK HITS

  • In its first-ever game on Christmas Day, Seattle U earned a convincing 85-67 win over George Washington to close out play at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
  • The Redhawks concluded non-conference play with a 9-4 record, marking the second straight season of nine non-conference victories.
  • Against George Washington, Cameron Tyson led the Redhawks in scoring for the ninth time this season, finishing with 20 points.
  • Five total Redhawks scored in double figures including Tyson (20), Brandton Chatfield (16), Emeka Udenyi (12, Viktor Rajković (12) and Riley Grigsby (10).
  • Emeka Udeni added a team-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
  • Seattle U's defense held the Colonials to just 22 field goals, 6-of-26 from three (.231), 27 rebounds and seven assists, all marks that are the second lowest allowed by the Redhawks this season.
  • The Redhawks rebounded from back-to-back rough offensive games to hit 31 field goals against GW, the second most of the season, and return to form with double-digit threes (10) for the eighth time this year.
  • In the win over GW, the Redhawks improved to 7-0 on the season when scoring 80 or more points.

ABOUT THE SERIES VS CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
This marks just the 11th all-time meeting between Seattle U and California Baptist with the all-time series even at 5-all. The Redhawks have won the last three meetings, including a sweep of the home-and-home series in 2021-22. Seattle U won at OT thriller on Jan. 17, 2022 in Riverside, Calif., as Riley Grigsby drained a three to send the game into overtime and the Redhawks used a 13-0 run to dominate the extra frame and earn its third win on CBU's home court. On Feb. 9, 2022 at Climate Pledge Arena, Darrion Trammell drained a buzzer beating three to snap a 64-64 tie and give the Redhawks the victory. This marks the first meeting at the Redhawk Center since Feb. 2, 2019 as the last two Redhawk home games have been contested at Climate Pledge Arena and the accesso Showare Center.

NATIONAL RANKS
In games played through Dec. 29, Seattle U ranks among the nation's top 50 in five team categories:

  • 8th in 3-pt attempts per game (29.4)
  • 29th in 3-pters per game (9.6)
  • 33rd in o-rebounds per game (12.92)
  • 41st in free throw attempts per game (21.7)
  • 48th in rebounds per game (39.38)

In games played through Dec. 29, Seattle U ranks among the nation's top 50 in four individual categories:

NET RANKINGS
The first NET rankings of the season were released on Monday, Dec. 5 with Seattle U earning the highest position in ranking history – 61. In games played through Dec. 29, the Redhawks rank 133. The NET, which stands for NCAA Evaluation Tool, replaced the RPI for men's and women's basketball and helps determine which teams are selected for the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season. Beginning this season, the system will now also be a factor used for seeding for the WAC Tournament.

JOINING THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
Alex Schumacher's made free throw at the 16:29 mark of the second half against Iona on Dec. 23 gave the junior guard 1,000 for his career. He scored 886 points during three seasons (including a shortened 2019-20 season due to COVID), and has added 138 points through 13 games played as a Redhawk for 1,020 career points and counting.

CAM CLIMBS THE CAREER THREES LIST
Through 13 games this season, Cameron Tyson has 43 threes, bringing his Seattle U career total to 148. That mark moves him into 8th all-time at Seattle U. Sitting in a tie for No. 6 with 150 career threes are Andre Lang (1991-95) and Morgan Means (2017-20). The program record of 239 career threes is held by Aaron Waite (1988-92).

GRIGSBY HEADS TOWARDS LONGEVITY RECORDS
A rare fifth-year senior thanks to the extra year of eligibility allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Riley Grigsby will look to become Seattle U's all-time leader in games played in this season. Through 13 game this season, Grigsby has appeared in 115 games, nine shy of the all-time record held by William Powell (2014-17). Grigsby also sits in third with 3,079 minutes played, trailing No. 2 Powell (3,178 minutes) and all-time leader Morgan Means (2017-20, 3,737 minutes), who has returned to the program as a graduate assistant this year.

REDHAWK RUNDOWN

  • Seattle U went 32-of-45 from the free-throw line on Dec. 23 against Iona, which marks the most made free throws since making 33 at Utah Valley on Jan. 15, 2021 and the most attempts since Dec. 3, 2009 when they attempted 48 against Cal Poly.
  • Alex Schumacher had a season-high 17 points versus Iona on Dec. 23 as his made free throw early in the second half gave the junior guard 1,000 points for his career. The Redhawk squad now features a trio of 1,000-point scorers in Schumacher, Riley Grigsby and Cameron Tyson.
  • On Dec. 18, Seattle U's defense held Alcorn State to just 1-for-16 from three, the fewest threes allowed by the Redhawks this season.
  • The overtime victory at North Dakota on Dec. 10 marked the first extra time game played this season. In Head Coach Chris Victor's one-plus year tenure, the Redhawks now have two overtime games, going 2-0 in the contests. Victor's first OT win was a 92-85 final Jan. 17, 2022 at California Baptist.
  • The Redhawks have rallied from double-digit deficits and gone on to win twice this season. The first was a 14-point spread against Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 30 at Climate Pledge Arena. The Redhawks won the match-up, 69-62. The second was a 17-point hole at North Dakota on Dec. 10. In that match-up, Seattle U rallied and, in overtime, Alex Schumacher hit the game-winning shot for an 80-78 victory.
  • The five straight wins to start this season marked the best unbeaten start to a season since 2007-08 (the final year Seattle U competed as a DII member), when they went 6-0 before dropping a game.
  • Cameron Tyson was named WAC Player of the Week for his performances during the opening week of play, which included averaging 33.5 points, 7.5 threes and 5.5 rebounds per game. He shot better than 56% from the field, including 8-for-13 (55.6%) from three.
  • Seattle U won its sixth straight home opener with a 106-55 final over University of Puget Sound on Nov. 9 at the Redhawk Center.
  • Seattle U won its fourth consecutive season opener, downing the Tritons of UC San Diego, 85-71, on Nov. 7.

SAN FRANCISCO ON MY MIND
Over the past three seasons, Seattle U has found a hotbed of talent who began their collegiate careers at City College of San Francisco. A total of five players have gone from the Rams' program to the Redhawks. In 2022-23, junior Seyi Reiley joins senior Emeka Udenyi on the Seattle U squad. Reiley, a Negri, Jamaica native, led the Rams to a CCCAA State Championship in 2021-22, while being named Coast Conference Player of the Year, Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and All-State. During his two years at CCSF, Reiley compiled a 60-1 record. Previous Rams-to-Redhawks included Darrion Trammell, Nate Robinson and Kyree Brown.

GET YOUR TICKETS
Single-game tickets and multi-game flex packages are on sale now. All ticket options may be purchased online at goseattleu.com/tix or over the phone at 206-398-GOSU.

UP NEXT
The Redhawks hit the road for the first of three conference trips to the state of Texas, including two in the month of January. Seattle U begins the southern swing on Thursday, Jan. 5 at UTRGV in Edinburg, then heads to face new WAC member UT Arlington on Saturday, Jan. 7.

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.