ST. GEORGE, Utah – Kobe Williamson slammed home a putback dunk with one second remaining and Seattle University men's basketball completed a two-game Western Athletic Conference road sweep in Utah with a thrilling 66-65 victory at Utah Tech Saturday night.
The roller coast game saw the Redhawks (16-10, 9-6 WAC) trail by as many 14 midway through the first half, lead by seven with 1:15 to play, trail by one with 15 seconds remaining and get a game-winner from Williamson for the second time this season.
Cameron Tyson recorded his second career double-double, pacing Seattle U with 16 points to go with a game-high 13 rebounds. Brandton Chatfield had 13 points, Williamson finished with 12 and John Christofilis added 11.
The Trailblazers (10-16, 6-9 WAC) were paced by Noa Gonsalves' 14 points. Three other UTU players scored in double figures as the home team shot better than 47% from the field, but managed just 4-of-19 from three and 9-of-20 from the free-throw line.
After trailing big early, the Redhawks rallied to close out the first half and a putback tip-in by Chatfield sent Seattle U into the locker room trailing by just three, 36-33.
Five straight points by Viktor Rajković knotted the score at 49 and a Chatfield free throw gave Seattle U its first lead of the game, 50-49, with 10:52 to play.
An 8-0 run put the Redhawks up seven, 58-51 and the lead stood again at seven, 62-55, with 2:01 to play.
But the Trailblazers weren't finished, answering with five straight points to pull within two. Williamson knocked down a jumper to push the lead back to four with 25 seconds remaining, before Aric Demings drained the Trailblazers first three since midway through the first half.
The Trailblazers' full-court press forced a Seattle U turnover on the ensuing possession and Jaylen Searles converted a layup to put Utah Tech up one, 65-64, with 15 seconds to play.
After a shot in transition was blocked out of bounds, the Redhawks inbounded and whipped the ball to the left wing where Schumacher put up a driving layup that rimmed out. But Williamson came in strong from the weak side, finishing with a two-handed dunk for the go-ahead bucket.
KOBE WITH THE PUTBACK FOR THE WIN! pic.twitter.com/fco29uG44y
— Seattle U Men's Basketball (@seattleumbb) February 18, 2024
Williamson then blocked Gonsalves' half-court heave at the buzzer to clinch the win.
The Redhawks return to Seattle for their final three home games of the season, beginning Thursday, Feb. 22 versus Stephen F. Austin. Tip off from the Redhawk Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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