SEATTLE – Riley Grigsby poured in 27 points, Alex Schumacher had 18 and Cameron Tyson added 14 as Seattle U men's basketball overcame an ugly first half to down NM State, 69-66, Thursday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
The win was the fifth straight for the Redhawks, including 4-0 in WAC play. On the season, Seattle U now sits at 13-4 overall and a perfect 7-0 at home. NM State, the reigning WAC Tournament champions, drops to 7-10 overall and 0-5 in league play for the first time ever.
It was a true tale of two halves offensively as Seattle U managed just 7-of-20 from the field and 1-of-10 from three in the opening 20 minutes. They would come up empty on their first seven attempts, finally tallying a field goal with 10:50 on the clock as Schumacher stole an Aggie pass in the back court, then took it himself to the bucket.
The Aggies were no better, finishing the first frame shooting 29 percent from the field, and the teams went into the locker room knotted at 24-apiece.
Grigsby opened the second half with his fifth bucket of the night and the Redhawks opened up a 10-point lead, 43-33, five minutes into the frame. Tyson downed 11 of his 14 points in the span, including a pair of threes and all-three free throws after being fouled on a long ball attempt.
A 6-0 spurt, including back-to-back Grigsby hook shots, opened up the largest lead of the night, 58-44. A 10-0 Aggie run cut it to four inside five minutes to play, but threes by Grigsby and Tyson, and an and-one three-point play from Schumacher pushed the lead back to double digits, 67-56, with two minutes to go.
The Aggies had one more run in them, scoring 10 straight to pull within one. But Schumacher drained two free throws with 12 ticks on the clock and a final attempt by the Aggies would not fall.
Seattle U shot 60 percent in the second half (15-of-25) and went 10-of-13 from the charity stripe.
A showdown of WAC unbeatens is on tap Saturday as the Redhawks head back out on the road to Orem, Utah, to face Utah Valley. Tip off from the UCCU Center is set for 6 p.m. Mountain Time, 5 p.m. Pacific.
The win was the fifth straight for the Redhawks, including 4-0 in WAC play. On the season, Seattle U now sits at 13-4 overall and a perfect 7-0 at home. NM State, the reigning WAC Tournament champions, drops to 7-10 overall and 0-5 in league play for the first time ever.
It was a true tale of two halves offensively as Seattle U managed just 7-of-20 from the field and 1-of-10 from three in the opening 20 minutes. They would come up empty on their first seven attempts, finally tallying a field goal with 10:50 on the clock as Schumacher stole an Aggie pass in the back court, then took it himself to the bucket.
The Aggies were no better, finishing the first frame shooting 29 percent from the field, and the teams went into the locker room knotted at 24-apiece.
Grigsby opened the second half with his fifth bucket of the night and the Redhawks opened up a 10-point lead, 43-33, five minutes into the frame. Tyson downed 11 of his 14 points in the span, including a pair of threes and all-three free throws after being fouled on a long ball attempt.
A 6-0 spurt, including back-to-back Grigsby hook shots, opened up the largest lead of the night, 58-44. A 10-0 Aggie run cut it to four inside five minutes to play, but threes by Grigsby and Tyson, and an and-one three-point play from Schumacher pushed the lead back to double digits, 67-56, with two minutes to go.
The Aggies had one more run in them, scoring 10 straight to pull within one. But Schumacher drained two free throws with 12 ticks on the clock and a final attempt by the Aggies would not fall.
Seattle U shot 60 percent in the second half (15-of-25) and went 10-of-13 from the charity stripe.
A showdown of WAC unbeatens is on tap Saturday as the Redhawks head back out on the road to Orem, Utah, to face Utah Valley. Tip off from the UCCU Center is set for 6 p.m. Mountain Time, 5 p.m. Pacific.
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