LAS CRUCES, N.M. – In their final trip to the Pan American Center as a part of Western Athletic Conference play, Seattle U men's basketball made a furious rally down the stretch turning a 17-point deficit into a four-point game with 63 seconds remaining. But they could not quite get over the hump against NM State in an 82-75 final Saturday night in Las Cruces, N.M.
Cameron Tyson led all scorers with 24 points, Riley Grigsby added 17 and Alex Schumacher had 14. Brandton Chatfield added 11 points and five boards before fouling out late..
Despite the four in double figures, the Redhawks shot just 37 percent from the field to the Aggies' 54 percent shooting. NM State earned 12 more trips to the charity stripe, finishing 22-of-26 to the Redhawks' 12-of-14.
Six Aggies notched double figures, paced by Anthony Roy's 15 points. DaJuan Gordon had 14 while Issa Muhammad and James Beck added 12 apiece.
Seattle U (16-8, 7-4 WAC) scored the first nine points of the game on a trio of threes. The Redhawks would lead 11-2 before the Aggies got going. Xavier Pinson gave the game its first tie, 17-17 and NMSU took its first lead on its next possession. The Aggies would go on to hold a 42-33 lead at the break.
The Redhawks found themselves down by as many as 17, 66-49, with nine minutes to play in the game, but would slowly mount a comeback.
A 6-0 spurt capped by a pair of Paris Dawson free throws trimmed the spread to single digits, 73-65, with 2:27 to play. Following a Muhammad layup, Grigsby scored four straight points and Schumacher added a layup through traffic, cutting the Aggies lead to four, 75-71, with 1:03 to play. But the Redhawks could get no closer and NMSU secured the win from the free throw line.
Seattle U returns home for a pair of games next week, beginning Wednesday, Feb. 8 against Utah Tech. The game will be the Redhawks' final of the season at Climate Pledge Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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.