LOS ANGELES – Brayden Maldonado returned from a three-game absence and immediately made up for lost time, pouring in a massive career-high 33 points, powering Seattle University men’s basketball to a 71-66 win at Loyola Marymount Saturday inside Gersten Pavilion.
The regular season finale victory moved the Redhawks to 19-12 overall and 7-11 to close out their first season back in the West Coast Conference. Combined with other results around the league, Seattle U finished in a three-way tie for fifth in the WCC standings and will earn the seventh seed in next week’s WCC Tournament.
LMU (15-16, 6-12 WCC) led for nearly 30 minutes, but a late Seattle U surge turned a Redhawk halftime deficit into a win for just the third time this season.
Trailing by as many as seven in the second half, the Redhawks’ run to turn the tide began just inside seven minutes to play. Maldonado knocked down back-to-back threes, his fifth and sixth of the night, to make it a one-point game, 57-56, Lions.
Jan Vide scored to push the LMU lead back to three before Maleek Arington converted a pair of free throws and Maldonado gave the Redhawks their first lead since midway through the first half with a baseline floater, 60-59.
The Redhawk run would extend to seven straight as Maldonado hit one of two free throws and Jojo Murphy converted a tough fast break layup off an LMU turnover taken away by Arington to make it 63-59 with 2:03 remaining. Seattle U hit 6-of-8 free throws in the final minutes to keep the Lions at bay.
Maldonado finished 9-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-11 from three and 9-of-12 from the free throw line, on his way to his first 30-point game. Will Heimbrodt also reached double figures, finishing with 11 points. Austin Maurer added nine points and John Christofilis had eight points off the bench.
LMU was paced by Aaron McBride’s 21 points. Vide had 19 points and Rodney Brown, Jr., finished with 14.
Seattle U will now open play at the 2026 Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Championship on Friday, March 6 against the winner of Thursday’s opening round match-up between 10th-seed LMU and 11th-seed San Diego. Full tournament information can be found at wccsports.com.
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