SEATTLE – Cameron Tyson scored 20 points to lead four Redhawks in double figures and Seattle U men's basketball held visiting California Baptist in check to claim a 71-65 win in its Western Athletic Conference opener Saturday evening in the Redhawk Center.
Returning home from a long trip to Hawaii to close out non-conference play, the Redhawks never trailed in earning their 10th win of the season and fourth straight against the Lancers (8-7, 0-2 WAC).
It's conference play and CBU is a good, well-coached, tough program," said Head Coach Chris Victor. "We knew it was going to be close and every possession mattered. I'm proud of the way we came out and competed today."
Joining Tyson in double figures were Alex Schumacher (11 points, 7 rebounds), Emeka Udenyi (11 points, 4 rebounds) and Riley Grigsby, who finished with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
CBU was paced by Riley Battin's 13 points and nine boards. Hunter Goodrick added 10 as the Lancers shot just39 percent from the field, including just 33 percent in the second half.
The Redhawks continued their return to form, shooting better than 47 percent from the field for the game, including a 13-for-25 (52 percent) second-half effort.
Seattle U opened the game with back-to-back threes from Schumacher and Tyson. The first-half lead would extend to 11, 24-13, on a 9-0 run of threes, and force a CBU called timeout. The Lancers would whittle the lead down to one, 26-25, but the Redhawks would continue to answer and a Kobe Williamson offensive rebound tip in to be a the halftime buzzer sent Seattle U into the break ahead 37-33.
After CBU scored the first four points of the second half, the Redhawks used a 12-1 run to push the lead back to double digits. The Lancers would pull within two, 63-61, with 2:07 remaining, but back-to-back tough buckets from Tyson and Grigsby gave the lead some cushion and a Brandon Chatfield dunk on a full-court press by CBU put the cap on the New Year's Eve victory.
"We got some big stops in the second half and were able to extend our lead a little bit," said Victor. "We also rebounded the ball really well. Kobe was huge on the boards and so was Riley. Any time we can guard a good team like that, hold them to 65 and extend the lead, that's a good recipe to get a win."
The Redhawks hit the road for the first of three WAC trips to the state of Texas, beginning a two-game southern swing on Jan. 5 at UTRGV. Tip off from Edinburg, Texas, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central Time, 4:30 p.m. Pacific.
Returning home from a long trip to Hawaii to close out non-conference play, the Redhawks never trailed in earning their 10th win of the season and fourth straight against the Lancers (8-7, 0-2 WAC).
It's conference play and CBU is a good, well-coached, tough program," said Head Coach Chris Victor. "We knew it was going to be close and every possession mattered. I'm proud of the way we came out and competed today."
Joining Tyson in double figures were Alex Schumacher (11 points, 7 rebounds), Emeka Udenyi (11 points, 4 rebounds) and Riley Grigsby, who finished with a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
CBU was paced by Riley Battin's 13 points and nine boards. Hunter Goodrick added 10 as the Lancers shot just39 percent from the field, including just 33 percent in the second half.
The Redhawks continued their return to form, shooting better than 47 percent from the field for the game, including a 13-for-25 (52 percent) second-half effort.
Seattle U opened the game with back-to-back threes from Schumacher and Tyson. The first-half lead would extend to 11, 24-13, on a 9-0 run of threes, and force a CBU called timeout. The Lancers would whittle the lead down to one, 26-25, but the Redhawks would continue to answer and a Kobe Williamson offensive rebound tip in to be a the halftime buzzer sent Seattle U into the break ahead 37-33.
After CBU scored the first four points of the second half, the Redhawks used a 12-1 run to push the lead back to double digits. The Lancers would pull within two, 63-61, with 2:07 remaining, but back-to-back tough buckets from Tyson and Grigsby gave the lead some cushion and a Brandon Chatfield dunk on a full-court press by CBU put the cap on the New Year's Eve victory.
"We got some big stops in the second half and were able to extend our lead a little bit," said Victor. "We also rebounded the ball really well. Kobe was huge on the boards and so was Riley. Any time we can guard a good team like that, hold them to 65 and extend the lead, that's a good recipe to get a win."
The Redhawks hit the road for the first of three WAC trips to the state of Texas, beginning a two-game southern swing on Jan. 5 at UTRGV. Tip off from Edinburg, Texas, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central Time, 4:30 p.m. Pacific.
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