SEATTLE – Milestones came in a big way for the Seattle University Redhawks on Sunday night.
So did a men’s basketball victory.
John Christofilis scored 16 points and joined SU’s all-time top-10 list for 3-point field goals made, Jojo Murphy added 11 points, including the 1,500th of his career, and the Redhawks fought off a second-half comeback by Oregon State to beat the Beavers on Sunday night inside the Redhawk Center, 60-50.
Will Heimbrodt added 15 points for Seattle U (16-11, 5-9 WCC), and Houran Dan added 10.
The last points on Dan’s scoreline came on a traditional three-point play with 2:26 left. Heimbrodt hustled after his own missed shot, saved the ball from going out of bounds and got it back into Dan, who was right under the hoop. Dan laid it back in, was fouled, and converted the free throw, pushing SU’s lead back to double digits at 59-47.
The Redhawks were on the verge of running away with it, twice building leads of 23 points. The second of those was 51-28 with 11:11 left in the game.
But from there, the Beavers (14-14, 7-8 WCC) went on a 19-5 scoring run, with a dozen of those points coming from downtown as they forced Seattle U into eight straight misses from the floor in a span of nearly nine minutes. Dan’s timely second-chance putback halted that field goal dry spell.
Oregon State came within single-digits once more at 59-50, but the Seattle U defense did not allow a point in the final 1:57.
Christofilis’ 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting included 4-of-7 behind the arc. He started the night with 142 made treys, needing two for a place among the program’s all-time top 10. His 144th came with 5:11 left in the first half on a jumper from beyond the top of the key. Less than a minute later, he drained No. 145 on a shot from the left of the lane.
Murphy started the night with 1,496 career points. He tallied his 1,500th on a floating runner in the paint on a second-chance opportunity with 16:49 left in the game.
The Redhawks broke the game open with a 10-0 first-half scoring run that extended a 10-9 lead to 19-9. That was the start of a 17-1 surge during a span of 7 minutes, 42 seconds, with eight of those coming from Christofilis.
During that stretch, Seattle U’s defense pitched in by forcing Oregon State into seven straight missed shots and three turnovers.
By the Numbers
--SU took a 36-18 lead into the locker room at halftime, the fifth time this season it has limited an opponent to fewer than 20 points in a half.
--The teams had nearly identical shooting marks from the field. Seattle U hit 37.7 percent (20-of-53). Oregon hit 37.3 percent (19-of-51).
--Heimbrodt pulled down a team-high nine rebounds to go along with his 15 points.
--Matija Samar led the Beavers with 14 points.
--Sunday’s victory was Chris Victor’s 199th as a head coach. He has 96 of those at Seattle U.
--The Redhawks gained a split of the season series. OSU won on Jan. 8 in Corvallis, 68-55.
Up Next
The Redhawks continue with their final homestand of the season when they host Saint Mary’s on Wednesday at Climate Pledge Arena. Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m. That will be the last of their five games at CPA. It will be shown live on CBS Sports Network.
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