ARLINGTON, Texas – Seattle U men's basketball held UT Arlington without a field goal for the final 5:38 of the game Saturday afternoon at the College Park Center, cruising to a 76-61 Western Athletic Conference victory.
The Redhawks move to 12-4 on the season, 3-0 in WAC play and complete the two-game road sweep in Texas. The Mavericks drop to 5-12 overall and 0-4 to open league play.
Against the nation's second best offensive rebounding team, the Redhawks combated with a tremendous shooting performance, hitting 54 percent overall from the field and 10-of-20 from three. Cameron Tyson led the way with his sixth consecutive game of 20 points or more, finishing with an even 20 to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
Alex Schumacher had another stellar outing of 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, plus four boards and four assists. Riley Grigsby added 12 points, Brandon Chatfield went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including a trio of threes, for 11 points and Kobe Williamson scored a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench.
UTA was paced by Shemar Wilson's 19 points and eight boards. Kyron Gibson added 13 and Chendall Weaver had 11.
Seattle U opened with their second best shooting half of the season, hitting nearly 57 percent in the opening frame, including 7-of-13 from deep. The Mavericks had just six offensive boards for six points in the half, but were solid from the field to keep pace.
Trailing 19-17, Williamson and Tyson hit back-to-back threes to kickstart an 11-2 run that put the Redhawks on top 28-21. The lead would stretch to as many as eight before carrying a 41-36 advantage into the break.
"In the first half (our offense) got us the lead," said Head Coach Chris Victor. "We weren't defending the way we wanted to, we weren't guarding the paint well, but making some shots early allowed us to stay in the game and have the lead at halftime."
The Mavericks would trim the spread down to three with a 4-point spurt midway through the second half, but four straight Tyson points followed by a Chatfield three opened up a double-digit lead, 57-47, forcing a UTA timeout.
Seattle U held UTA without a field goal for nearly six minutes to close out the game (0-of-7) while hitting its final four shots for the 15-point win. The Redhawks have now held opponents to 67 points or less in their last four outings.
"Those first eight minutes of the second half we weren't getting loose balls, they were getting offensive rebound and we were getting out butts kicked in that area," Victor said. "But we were able to extend that lead because we changed that. We got defensive rebounds, we got loose balls."
A quick return home to Seattle is on tap next, as the Redhawks host NM State on Thursday, Jan. 12 at Climate Pledge Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Single game tickets for all remaining home games, as well as flex packages, are available now. To purchase, visit goseattleu.com/tix. For more information about courtside seating or VIP hospitality, please contact the Seattle U Athletics box office at 206-398-GOSU or seattleutickets@seattleu.edu.
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