SEATTLE – It was a tale of two halves for Seattle U men's basketball at Climate Pledge Arena Wednesday night as the Redhawks' 10-game home win streak was halted by an 83-68 defeat to Abilene Christian.
Seattle U (16-7, 7-3 WAC) shot better than 54 percent from the field in the first half and held a 49-44 lead at the break. But the Redhawks struggled to find the same offensive rhythm in the second frame, managing just 19 points to the Wildcats' 39 and ACU moved its record above .500 on the season.
"I was very disappointed in how we competed," said Head Coach Chris Victor. "Obviously this was one of our worst defensive performances of the year. We didn't execute the game plan. We weren't competing, we weren't playing hard, we weren't guarding the rim, we weren't rebounding...we weren't us.
"We need to get back to what we were doing to start conference play 7-0," Victor continued. " Get back to competing on defense, stopping people and being physical. We need to figure this out quick."
The first half shootout saw a dozen points each by Riley Grigsby and Alex Schumacher to lead eight total Redhawks in the scoring column. But the Wildcats matched the effort, hitting nearly 53 percent from the field as they were paced by Joe Pleasant's 16 first-half points.
Seattle U trailed 26-18 midway through the first frame, but flipped the score before the break and held a five-point lead at intermission.
ACU (12-11, 4-6 WAC) opened the second half with a 10-0 run. Seven straight Seattle U points slowed the charge briefly, and the spread remained a one-two possession game through the bulk of the half.
Grigsby converted a jumper in the paint with 7:03 remaining and Pleasant was called for a technical foul for flopping on the play. Tyson converted the awarded free throw and the Redhawks were within three, 69-66. But from there, the Wildcats would use a 12-0 run to open up an 81-66 lead and cruise to a second straight win over the Redhawks.
Grigsby was honored pregame as he became the program's all-time leader in games played with his 125th appearance Wednesday night.
Seattle U heads back out on the road Saturday, traveling to Las Cruces, N.M., to face NM State at the Pan American Center. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. Mountain Time, 6 p.m. Pacific.
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.
Seattle U (16-7, 7-3 WAC) shot better than 54 percent from the field in the first half and held a 49-44 lead at the break. But the Redhawks struggled to find the same offensive rhythm in the second frame, managing just 19 points to the Wildcats' 39 and ACU moved its record above .500 on the season.
"I was very disappointed in how we competed," said Head Coach Chris Victor. "Obviously this was one of our worst defensive performances of the year. We didn't execute the game plan. We weren't competing, we weren't playing hard, we weren't guarding the rim, we weren't rebounding...we weren't us.
"We need to get back to what we were doing to start conference play 7-0," Victor continued. " Get back to competing on defense, stopping people and being physical. We need to figure this out quick."
The first half shootout saw a dozen points each by Riley Grigsby and Alex Schumacher to lead eight total Redhawks in the scoring column. But the Wildcats matched the effort, hitting nearly 53 percent from the field as they were paced by Joe Pleasant's 16 first-half points.
Seattle U trailed 26-18 midway through the first frame, but flipped the score before the break and held a five-point lead at intermission.
ACU (12-11, 4-6 WAC) opened the second half with a 10-0 run. Seven straight Seattle U points slowed the charge briefly, and the spread remained a one-two possession game through the bulk of the half.
Grigsby converted a jumper in the paint with 7:03 remaining and Pleasant was called for a technical foul for flopping on the play. Tyson converted the awarded free throw and the Redhawks were within three, 69-66. But from there, the Wildcats would use a 12-0 run to open up an 81-66 lead and cruise to a second straight win over the Redhawks.
Grigsby was honored pregame as he became the program's all-time leader in games played with his 125th appearance Wednesday night.
1??2??5?? career games for @RileyGrigsby
— Seattle U Men's Basketball (@seattleumbb) February 2, 2023
Officially the all-time leader in games played at Seattle U??#TogetherWeSoar pic.twitter.com/2DyQKGVmNu
Seattle U heads back out on the road Saturday, traveling to Las Cruces, N.M., to face NM State at the Pan American Center. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. Mountain Time, 6 p.m. Pacific.
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.