Maldonado's 28 Leads Redhawks to Win Over Miners

SEATTLE – On a night when Seattle University honored a storied part of its men’s basketball past, the current edition continued to make their case that they’re a team to be reckoned with in the present.

Brayden Maldonado tied his career high with 28 points, including the final seven of the game for his team, and Seattle U finished on a 10-3 scoring run to beat UTEP inside Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday, 75-68.

Will Heimbrodt added 13 for the Redhawks (7-2), and Austin Maurer came off the bench for 11.

Seattle U has now won six of its last seven games. This is the best start since 2022-23.

While the Redhawks and Miners (3-5) spent the night going up and down the Climate Pledge court, the spotlight shifted back briefly to their predecessors from 1966 who played under the same roof.  SU and then-Texas Western (the school’s name prior to becoming UTEP) engaged in a back-and-forth battle in what was then the Seattle Center Coliseum.

Seattle ultimately won that long-ago game, 74-72, on a final-minute jump shot by Tom Workman. That became the only loss of the season for the Miners, who went 28-1 on the way to winning the NCAA Tournament.

Workman was one of four from that squad in the building on Sunday, all of whom were recognized during the first timeout of the game.

Sunday’s game was tied 11 times, with six of those in the final 10 minutes. The lead changed hands nine times.

Deadlocked at 65-65, Maleek Arington put Seattle U in front on a 3-pointer from the left of the lane with exactly three minutes remaining. The Redhawks then got back-to-back stops. The second of those came just inside the two-minute mark when Miles Amos knocked the ball loose in back court. UTEP’s Trey Horton attempted to bounced it out of bounds off of Amos. Instead, it ultimately went out off Horton, and the Redhawks had possession.

Maldonado had a short runner that bounced off the front and back of the rim, went through, and he was fouled on the play. He added the free throw for a 71-65 lead at the 1:49  mark.

Elijah Jones buried a 3-pointer for UTEP at 1:38, cutting it to 71-68. The teams traded scoreless possessions, then Maldonado banked in a runner with 40 seconds left for a 73-68 lead.

Jones missed a 3-pointer at the other end. Maldonado secured the rebound, was fouled and drained both free throws for a three-possession advantage at 75-68 with just 30.8 seconds remaining.

That matched Seattle U’s biggest lead of the night. The Redhawks also were up seven early in the second half at 40-33. They closed the first half on a 7-0 run to turn a 31-30 deficit into a 37-31 halftime edge.

The largest lead for UTEP was 18-10 midway through the first half.

By the Numbers

• Maldonado hit 5-of-5 from the free throw line. He is now 36-of-37 for the season (97.3 percent).
• His previous 28-point outing was in the season-opening 84-73 victory against Denver on Nov. 3. On Sunday, he hit 9-of-13 from the field.
• The Redhawks shot 47.1 percent for the game (24-of-51). That included 43.5 percent (10-of-23) behind the arc. SU has shot 45 percent or better overall in each of its first nine games.
• Maurer pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with his 11 points. SU had a 33-29 edge on the boards.
• Arington handed out five of Seattle U’s 12 assists.
• Jamal West Jr. led UTEP with 21 points. Jones tallied 18.

Up Next

Seattle U wrap up a three-game homestand on Saturday when it go against Warner Pacific at the Redhawk Center. Tip-off for the non-conference game is at 5:00 p.m.