LAS VEGAS – Seattle University men's basketball could not complete the trifecta against Grand Canyon this season, falling 84-79 in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals Thursday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
The fourth seeded Redhawks swept the home-and-home conference series over the fifth seeded Lopes, but a third win on the season remained elusive and GCU advanced to the semifinals where it will face top seed Sam Houston.
Seattle U led for the entire first half of play, keeping nearly every Lope in check with the exception of Gabe McGlothan, who finished the frame with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The GCU senior finished the night with 35 points and 10 rebounds, carrying the Lopes into the next round.
The Redhawks led by as many as 10, 34-24, in the first half and a driving Alex Schumacher layup to beat the buzzer sent the teams into the locker rooms with Seattle U up 36-29.
A 10-2 GCU run to open the second half turned the tide quickly, putting the Lopes ahead, 39-38, at the 17:39 mark. With McGlothan leading the charge and the Lopes shooting better than 65 percent in the frame, Seattle U found itself down 13, 71-58, with 5:37 to play.
But the Redhawks were not finished. An 8-1 spurt capped by back-to-back buckets from Brandton Chatfield cut the spread to four with three minutes to play.
GCU's Walter Ellis and Seattle U's Cameron Tyson traded three-point buckets before Tyson had a chance to trim the spread down to one with another long three inside a minute to play. But the shot circled the rim and popped out and the Lopes hit their free throws down the stretch to hold the Redhawks at bay.
"We started the game in the first half playing Seattle U basketball, the way we were guarding and defending, but the second half got away from us," said Head Coach Chris Victor. "We got down by a good amount and then, so proud of these guys..nothing is going their way but the heart of this group, fighting back possession by possession. We cut it to four, I thought Cam's three was down, that would have cut it to one. But at the end of the day, we didn't get enough stops, didn't make enough plays in the second half to get it done."
Tyson finished the night with 27 points, including 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. In his final games as a Redhawk, Riley Grigsby tallied 15 points, including a three-pointer with three seconds remaining that sent the fifth-year senior over the 1,500-point mark for his career. Schumacher added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Senior Emeka Udenyi had two points and an assist in his final collegiate game.
"Riley and Mek are two amazing men who have given a lot to Seattle U," Victor said of the senior duo. "We're so appreciative of what they've given to this program, not just on the basketball court, but with their leadership, their toughness and their commitment."
Seattle U closes out the season with a 20-12 overall record, capturing back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in nearly 60 years.
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