SEATTLE – Seattle University men's basketball (4-3, 0-1 WAC) looks to defend home court and pick up its first Western Athletic Conference win on Saturday, Dec. 2 when it hosts Southern Utah (2-4, 0-1 WAC) in a 3 p.m. tip at the Redhawk Center. The two-game WAC stint that splits an 11-game non-conference slate began on the road Wednesday and concludes in Seattle Saturday. The game will broadcast live on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS
- Saturday, Dec. 2 at 3:00 PM PT
- Seattle U (4-3, 0-1 WAC) vs. Southern Utah (2-4, 0-1 WAC)
- Redhawk Center, Seattle, WA
- Tickets
- Live Stats
- Watch on ESPN+
- Game Notes
QUICK HITS
- Seattle U opened WAC play on Wednesday, dropping a 78-72 decision at reigning regular-season champion Utah Valley.
- The game marked the first time this season that the Redhawk had surrendered more than 70 points.
- Cameron Tyson led all scorers with 23 points, including seven three pointers. This marked the seventh time Tyson has hit seven or more threes during his Seattle U career.
- Alex Schumacher added 21 points and seven assists while Brandton Chatfield had 10 points and six rebounds.
- The game featured 12 lead changes and six ties, but Seattle U's final lead, 61-59, would come with 4:27 to play. The Wolverines would outscore the Redhawks 19-13 from there.
ABOUT THE SERIES VS SOUTHERN UTAH
- This marks just the fifth all-time meeting between the Redhawks and Thunderbirds. The series record sits even at 2-2.
- Southern Utah joined the WAC in 2022-23, marking the first meeting between the Redhawks and Thunderbirds since 2018. Seattle U was victorious in the lone meeting, 81-60, at the Redhawk Center.
- Riley Grigsby scored a career-high 33 points and Cameron Tyson added 19 points in the big win.
- The Redhawks' win came by holding the (then) nation's top scoring team 27 points below it's average, including 1-of-25 from three.
- Prior to last season, the last meeting came on Nov. 18, 2018 at the Redhawk Center as Southern Utah claimed a 73-70 win.
- Seattle U's first win in the series came in 2016, an 89-75 final in Cedar City, Utah.
RECORD WATCH
- Kobe Williams recorded one block on Wednesday at Utah Valley, matching the Seattle U all-time record of 109, also held by Aaron Menzies (2015-18). Williamson's next block will give him the outright record.
- Brandton Chatfield is working his way up the Seattle U career blocks top-10 list as well, checking in at No. 8 with 73.
- Cameron Tyson drained seven three-pointers Wednesday night at Utah Valley and now needs six more threes to hit No. 2 all-time at Seattle U. He sits 16 threes away from the all-time record held by Aaron Waite (1988-92).
ATOP THE WAC
In games played through Nov. 29, the Redhawks lead the WAC in 2 team statistical categories and 7 individual categories.
- Team free throw % - 74.5
- 3pt% defense - 27.9
- Assists - Alex Schumacher, 38
- Assists per game - Alex Schumacher, 5.4
- Blocks - Kobe Williamson, 15
- Blocks per game - 2.14
- 3pt attempts - Cameron Tyson, 54
- 3pt per game - Cameron Tyson, 3.29
- 3pt made - Cameron Tyson, 23
FREE THROW STREAK
Victor Rajkovic is a perfect 13-13 from the free-throw line to start the 2023-24 season. The junior forward hit all five of his attempts in the season opener versus PVAM, then went 4-for-4 versus Montana State and 4-for-4 versus Northern Arizona. The streak is the longest for a Seattle U player since Cameron Tyson hit 23 consecutive free throws from Jan. 12, 2023 vs NM State through Feb. 1, 2023 versus Abilene Christian.
REDHAWK ROUNDUP
- The 92-point outing against Idaho on Nov. 22 was the most points scored by a Seattle U team since Jan. 17, 2022 when the Redhawks beat California Baptist, 92-85, in overtime.
- The Redhawks shot a blistering 61.8% from the field in the win over Idaho on Nov. 22, marking the first time Seattle U had shot better than 60% since Feb. 15, 2018 versus UTRGV.
- Seattle U earned its fifth consecutive season-opening win with a 71-60 victory over Prairie View A&M on Wednesday. This is just the third time in the last seven seasons that Seattle U had opened the season at home.
- Seattle native John Christofilis had a career and game-high 18 points in his Redhawk debut. The redshirt sophomore from Creighton had not played in a collegiate game since the 2021-22 season when he averaged 3.9 minuntes in 13 appearances for the Bluejays.
- Williamson and Brandton Chatfield had five blocks apiece against PVAM, a career-high for both big men. It also marked the first time a Redhawk had recorded five blocks in a game since Myles Carter turned away seven shots on Nov. 28, 2018 versus Northwest.
- The Redhawk roster features six players from the state of Washington, including four who call the city of Seattle home. All four Seattleites are new to the squad this year, including John Christofilis (O'Dea HS/Creighton) and Malek Gomma (Ingraham HS/Elite Prep), Jazel Brown (Garfield HS) and Niko Fotopoulos (Bishop Blanchete HS/St. Thomas More School).
- Seattle U's coaching staff also features numerous local ties as assistant coaches Grant Leep, D'Marques Tyson and Steven Shpreyregin all hail from the state of Washington.
- Seattle U is coming off of a 20-12 overall record in 2022-23 and a 23-9 mark in 2021-22. The back-to-back 20-win seasons were the first for the program since 1963-64. Three straight 20-win seasons has not taken place since 1957-59.
- The Redhawks' 2022 Western Athletic Conference regular season title was the first DI conference title for the program and just the second overall conference title (Seattle U won the 2006-07 DII Great Northwest Athletic Conference crown).
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Seattle U has gone 33-5 (.868) on its home court during the past two-plus seasons under Head Coach Chris Victor. That record includes a 22-2 mark at the Redhawk Center and an 11-3 mark in 14 games played at Climate Pledge Arena.
GET YOUR TICKETS
Single-game tickets and season packages are available for purchase. Season ticket holders receive exclusive access to special offers and always receive the best value. All ticket options may be purchased online at goseattleu.com/tix or over the phone at 206-398-GOSU.
UP NEXT
Seattle U takes a weeklong break from action during finals week, returning to play on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Redhawks host Northwest University in a 5 p.m. tip-off from the Redhawk Center.
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.