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GAME PREVIEW: MBB vs. Stephen F. Austin

SEATTLE – Seattle University men's basketball (16-10, 9-6 WAC) opens its final homestand of the season on Thursday, Feb. 22, hosting Stephen F. Austin (14-11, 7-7 WAC) in a key Western Athletic Conference match-up. Tip off is 7 p.m. in the Redhawk Center and the game will air on ESPN+.

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GAME PREVIEW: MBB vs. Stephen F. AustinGAME PREVIEW: MBB vs. Stephen F. Austin

SEATTLE – Seattle University men's basketball (16-10, 9-6 WAC) opens its final homestand of the season on Thursday, Feb. 22, hosting Stephen F. Austin (14-11, 7-7 WAC) in a key Western Athletic Conference match-up. Tip off is 7 p.m. in the Redhawk Center and the game will air on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS

QUICK HITS

  • Seattle U completed the two-game road trip to Utah with a thrilling 66-65 win at Utah Tech on Saturday.
  • The Redhawks improved to 16-10 overall and 9-6 in WAC play, maintaining sole possession of third place (behind Grand Canyon and Tarleton) in the conference standings.
  • Kobe Williamson was the hero for the second time this season, scoring the game-winning basket on a putback dunk with one second remaining. Williamson went on to block the Trailblazers' half-court heave at the buzzer to seal the victory.
  • Cameron Tyson led all scorers with 16 points to go with a career-high 13 rebounds. Brandton Chatfield had 13 points, Williamson had 12 and John Chirstofilis added 11.
  • Seattle U's staunch three-point defense returned as Utah Tech managed just 4-of-19 (21%) from three, including 1-of-9 in the decisive second half.
  • With the one-point win at Utah Tech, the Redhawks have won the last three games decided by five points or less. On the season, they are now 5-8 in those games. The collective total of their 10 losses is just 38 points, or an average of 3.8 ppg.

CHRISTOFILIS EARNS FIRST WAC WEEKLY HONOR
John Christofilis was named TicketSmarter WAC Newcomer of the Week for the game week ending on Sunday, Feb. 18. The Creighton transfer and Seattle native averaged 18 points per game as Seattle U earned two big road wins in Utah to maintain pace in third place in the WAC standings. Christofilis connected on 14-29 FGs (48.3%), including 7-15 (46.7%) from three in the wins at Southern Utah and Utah Tech. On Thursday, he poured in a game-high 25 points on 10 FGs, including five threes, to go along with a pair of rebounds as the Redhawks won, 73-63. On Saturday in St. George, he scored all 11 of his points in the first half as the Redhawks rallied from 14 down to eventually hit the game-winning shot with one second remaining in a thrilling 66-65 final.

SEATTLE STORYLINES

  • Cameron Tyson enters Thursday's game with 1,955 career-points, needing just 45 more to hit the 2K mark. While a portion of his points came at other institutions, Tyson would become just the second player ever to don a Seattle University jersey and have over 2,000 career points. Seattle U's all-time leading scorer is Johnny O'Brien (1950-53) with 2,733 career points.
  • After missing nine games due to hand injury, John Christofilis has bounced back without missing a step, averaging 13.4 ppg in 16 games since his return. The stretch has included a career-high, 32 points on Jan. 4 vs Utah Tech and double-digit scoring in 10 of the last 13 games.
  • Kobe Williamson has turned in career-best numbers all season long. The 6-8 forward is averaging 10.1 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 47% FGs, 28% from three and 79% FTs. This are all career-highs for the fourth-year junior (due to COVID) who averaged 4.2 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 37% FGs and 26% from three last season.
  • The Redhawks lead the WAC and are among the top teams in the nation in three-point percentage defense, holding teams to 29.7% from beyond the arc.
  • Alex Schumacher scored his 1,500th career point at SFA on Jan. 18 as part of a 24-point effort. His 12th point of the night hit the milestone marker. Schumacher joins Cameron Tyson to give Seattle U a pair of players who have over 1,500 career points.
  • The overtime finish at Grand Canyon on Feb. 1 was the Redhawks' fifth game to go extra time this season. They are 1-4 in OT games this season and 2-4 all-time under Head Coach Chris Victor.

ABOUT THE SERIES VS STEPHEN F. AUSTIN

  • This marks just the fourth all-time meeting between Seattle U and Stephen F. Austin.
  • SFA won this season's first meeting, 89-84, in overtime in Nacagdoches.  The Redhawks narrowly missed winning in regulation, but a potential go-ahead bucket by Kobe Williamson did not fall. Alex Schumacher had 24 points, John Christofilis and Brandton Chatfield had 16 points and Williamson added 13. Cameron Tyson did not play in the first meeting after suffering an ankle injury in a previous game.
  • The Lumberjacks won last season's only meeting, 79-65, in Nacogdoches. SFA shot 50 percent from the field in the first frame and bettered that to 58 percent in the second. Seattle U got 16 points from Cameron Tyson and 12 from Alex Schumacher in the defeat.
  • The Redhawks won the first meeting, 70-62, on Jan. 26, 2022 at Climate Pledge Arena. In that game, all nine Redhawks who saw playing time scored, paced by Riley Grigsby (18 points), Cameron Tyson (17 points) and Darrion Trammell (10 points). Seattle U led 37-25 at the half, led by as many as 18 in the second half and withstood a late Lumberjack charge for an eighth straight win.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Seattle U has gone 41-7 (.854) on its home court during the past two-plus seasons under Head Coach Chris Victor. That record includes a 31-3 (.912) mark at the Redhawk Center, including 11-1 in 2023-24, and a 12-4 mark in 16 games played at Climate Pledge Arena.

WINNING AT THE NET
Seattle U has a pair of wins over teams ranked in the top-70 of the NCAA NET at the time of the game. The Redhawks took down No. 66-ranked Louisiana Tech on Dec. 20, 79-73, the toppled No. 41 Grand Canyon on Jan. 20. At the time of each game, the opponent represented the Redhawks' highest NET win of the season. Seattle U is ranked No. 121 in games played through Feb. 19.

MILESTONE MARCH - POINTS
A pair of Redhawks are racking up points and closing in on significant milestone markers.

  • Cameron Tyson checks in with 1,955 career points, 45 from 2,000 for his career. With five regular season games remaining, Tyson needs to average 9.0 ppg to achieve the feat.
  • Tyson is also 94 points away from 1,500 points scored at Seattle U. The last player to do so was Riley Grigsby (2019-23) who finished with 1,501. 
  • Tyson could crack the Seattle U top-10 list in scoring. He is 124 points away from No. 10 Jawann Oldham (1976-80, 1530).
  • Alex Schumacher scored 24 points at SFA on Jan. 18, hitting the 1,500 career-point mark with his 12th point of the night. He now sits at 1,628 and counting.

MILESTONE MARCH - REBOUNDS
A trio of Redhawks have been closing in on 500 rebounds for their career:

  • Kobe Williamson hauled in 11 rebounds on Jan. 26 versus Utah Valley, surpassing 500 career rebounds.
  • Alex Schumacher check in with 496 career rebounds, needing four more to hit 500.
  • Cameron Tyson checks in with 479 career rebounds, needing 21 more to hit 500.

ATOP THE WAC
In games played through Feb. 19, the Redhawks lead the WAC in one team statistical categories and five individual categories.

  • 3pt% Defense - 29.7% (also No. 20 in the nation)
  • Assists - Alex Schumacher, 123 (also No. 56 in the nation)
  • Assists per game - Alex Schumacher, 4.7 (also No. 66 in the nation)
  • 3pt% - Cameron Tyson, 37.2 (also No. 64 in the nation)
  • 3pt per game - Cameron Tyson, 3.04 (also No. 18 in the nation)
  • 3pt made - Cameron Tyson, 70 (also No. 48 in the nation)

NCAA ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS

  • Cameron Tyson is one of three active players across the nation to have over 400 three-pointers for their career. His collegiate career total of 413 three pointers in 135 games played ranks third among all active Division I players (and third among players across all three divisions). He trails Texas' Max Abmas (493, 149 games) and Marshall's Kamdyn Curfman (449, 149 games).
  • Tyson also ranks No. 25 (in games through Feb. 19) among active NCAA DI players in career points with 1,955.

GET YOUR TICKETS
Single-game tickets and flex packages are available for purchase. All ticket options may be purchased online at goseattleu.com/tix or over the phone at 206-398-GOSU.

UP NEXT
The Redhawks continue their three-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 24, hosting UTRGV. Tip off from the Redhawk Center is 3 p.m.

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