SEATTLE – Jojo Murphy came off the bench for a season-high 18 points, Ray Adams recorded a double-double in just his second college game, and the Seattle University men's basketball team led almost wire to wire, defeating Puget Sound, 97-43, on Wednesday night inside Redhawk Center.
Murphy hit 8-of-17 from the field in 26 minutes of action. He is in his first year with the Redhawks after playing the past three seasons with Chico State. Adams, a redshirt freshman, had 11 points and 10 rebounds, both career highs, as were his 24 minutes of playing time. Brayden Maldonado added 11 points, while Houran Dan and Austin Maurer each chipped in 10 for Seattle U (6-2).
The Redhawks were coming off a narrow 74-71 loss to UC Santa Barbara in the final game of the Resorts World Classic on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The only other time SU has fallen short this season was 73-71 to Cal Poly on Nov. 8 at home. The Redhawks came back four nights later to blow out Eastern Washington, 94-67.
Seattle U trailed just once all night, 3-2 in the opening moments. It then put the next nine points on the board for an 11-3 advantage.
UPS got as close as five at 26-21 with 7:02 left in the half. SU responded with another 8-0 run to open up a 13-point bulge at 34-21 and ultimately took a 44-32 lead into halftime.
The Redhawks essentially put it away with 12 straight points early in the second half, expanding a 46-34 lead to 58-34. They allowed the Loggers just 11 points on 3-of-24 shooting through the final 20 minutes.
Seattle U had season-best totals both offensively and defensively. The 97 points was three more than it scored against Eastern. The 43 points allowed was nine fewer than the 52 that Texas State put on the board last Friday in Vegas.
By the Numbers
--The Redhawks shot 49.3 percent from the field (33 of 67). They have shot 45 percent or better in every game this season, with two above 50 percent and two above 60 percent. SU came into Wednesday’s game ranked No. 1 in the West Coast Conference and No. 5 nationally in field goal shooting at 53.2 percent.
-- At the other end, the defense limited UPS to just 27.5 percent (14-of-51).
-- A total of 13 Redhawks saw action and 12 of them scored.
--Seattle U pulled down a season-high 56 rebounds – more than a quarter of its season total of 204 through the first seven games. The previous high this season was 36 in the season opener against Denver on Nov. 3.
--Zane Miller led UPS with 13 points.
Up Next
The Redhawks play the first of their five Climate Pledge Arena home games on Sunday when they host UTEP in a 5 p.m. tip-off. As part of the evening, the 1966 Seattle U team that handed Texas Western (the forerunner of UTEP) its only loss of the season before the Miners went on to win the NCAA Tournament, will be recognized. Several former members of that SU team are planning to be in attendance.
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