SEATTLE – On a Saturday night dedicated to them, John Christofilis, Jojo Murphy and Maleek Arington delivered.
Christofilis scored 14 points with 12 of those from downtown, Murphy had 11 plus seven rebounds and Arington tallied six and dished six assists as Seattle University used a 21-2 second-half scoring run – including 16 points in a row – to pull away from Portland for a crucial West Coast Conference men’s basketball victory, 71-59 inside Redhawk Center.
Austin Maurer added 14 points and five rebounds for Seattle U.
The win lifted the Redhawks to 17-12 overall, 6-10 in conference play and into sole possession of eighth place in the standings after starting the night tied with Portland (12-17, 5-11).
The teams that finish seventh and eighth don’t enter the WCC Tournament bracket until the second round, thus getting one more day of rest and preparation. The Nos. 9 through 12 teams have to play in the first round. The tournament is set for March 5-10 in Las Vegas.
All teams have two regular-season games remaining (except for Pacific and San Francisco, which have one left).
The senior trio of Christofilis, Murphy, and Arington had a hand in 12 of the 21 points that broke the game open after Portland trimmed an 11-point second-half deficit (37-26) all the way down to one at 45-44 with 10:22 still on the clock.
Arington started it with a 3-pionter from the right of the lane off an assist from Murphy. As it continued, Christofilis stroked a 17-footer, Murphy stole the ball in backcourt and went coast-to-coast for a lay-in, then later added a 3-pointer.
With Seattle U having stretched that precarious one-point lead all the way to 20 at 66-46, Murphy effectively helped seal the deal with the epitome of a hustle play. A missed 3-pointer by Will Heimbrodt was on the way to bouncing out of bounds when Murphy chased it down and flung it back in. Houran Dan was waiting right near the basket, and he went up for an uncontested lay-in and a 68-46 lead with 3:30 to go.
The closest the Pilots came after that was the final margin of 12.
Both teams had trouble finding the hoop during the first half, which ended with the Redhawks owning a 29-20 lead. SU’s defense didn’t allow a field goal for a span of 9 minutes, 28 seconds, limiting the Pilots to just five shots during that span while also forcing five turnovers. For the half, Portland managed just 14 shots from the floor, hitting four It stayed within striking distance by hitting 11-of-13 at the free-throw line.
By the Numbers
-- Seattle U was without leading scorer Brayden Maldonado for a second straight game due to injury. Maldonado was honored along with fellow seniors Arington, Christofilis and Murphy in a ceremony prior to tipoff.
-- The win was the 200th in his career for Redhawks coach Chris Victor. He has 97 of those with SU.
--Christofilis’ four makes from 3-point range boosted his career total to 151, moving him from a tie for 10th into seventh on Seattle U’s career list.
--Murphy’s assist on Dan’s basket gave him four to go along with his 11 points and seven boards.
--Arington had two steals, giving him 64 for his career and moving him into No. 7 on that career stat list.
--Heimbrodt had two blocked shots, giving him 70 for the season.
--The Redhawks shot 37.9 percent for the night, hitting 22-of-58. The Pilots shot 37.5 percent, but hit just 15-of-40.
--SU force Portland into 19 turnovers, converting those into 21 points.
--The teams split the season series. Portland won 54-53 at home on Feb. 7.
Up Next
The Redhawks close the regular season with a two-game West Coast Conference road trip. Up first is a visit to Pepperdine on Wednesday, tipping off at 6:00 p.m. SU scored an 83-81 home victory against the Wave on Feb. 4.
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