DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Seattle University men's basketball used a second half surge to power it's way to a 79-66 win over Delaware State on opening day of the 2024 Ro College Basketball Invitational at Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The season's 20th win made for a historic moment, giving the program a third consecutive 20-win season for the first time since 1957-59. The Redhawks advance to face Sunday's winner between Quinnipiac and Evansville in Monday's quarterfinals.
All 10 Redhawks who suited up scored, paced by a game-high 19 points from Cameron Tyson. John Christofilis added 16 points and Kobe Williamson added 13 to round out a trio in double figures. Alex Schumacher chipped in eight points, seven assists and six boards while Viktor Rajković hauled in a game-high eight boards.
A slow start saw Seattle U (20-14) trail the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament runner-up Hornets, 30-24, with 3:30 remaining in the first half. But an 8-0 run on back-to-back threes from Tyson and Christofilis and an alley-oop dunk from Seyi Reiley put the Redhawks on top, 32-30. Seattle U would take a 34-32 lead into the break.
"We didn't have great energy to start the game, we were really flat and weren't physical at all, but we brought some energy to finish the half. We tied it up, got a little lead and I thought we started the second half with a different level and it was good to see," said Head Coach Chris Victor.
Seattle U never trailed in the second half. Up three, 46-43, with 14:26 the Redhawks surged, rolling off 12 straight points to open up a 58-43 advantage. The lead would balloon to 19, 74-55, before the final 13-point spread.
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— Seattle U Men's Basketball (@seattleumbb) March 24, 2024
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"Both Cam and John had some good looks in the first half against the zone, we just couldn't get any to fall," Victor said. "We don't want to fall in love with that and we wanted to be more aggressive and attack the paint, but Cam and John are such good shooters that at some point in the game if they're getting those looks they're going to make a couple. And they have the confidence in that too so it was good to see some of those go in."
The Redhawks' quarterfinal game on Monday tips off at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, 3:30 p.m. Pacific. The game will broadcast live on FloHoops. For more information, visit CollegeBasketballInvitational.com.
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