SEATTLE – Sure, the offense had five players in double figures. But it was the defense that made the difference for the Seattle University men’s basketball team.
Brayden Maldonado pumped in 15 points, Will Heimbrodt added 13 plus three blocked shots, and Seattle U shut down one of the best-shooting teams in the country, pulling away to a 67-52 victory against St. Thomas in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday night inside Redhawk Center.
Junseok Yeo chipped in 12 points for Seattle U (21-13), which was in the NIT for just the third time (first time since 1957) and logged its first NIT victory. Jojo Murphy and John Christofilis had 10 each off the bench.
St. Thomas (24-10) of the Midwest-based Summit League, came in shooting .510 from the field, ranking No. 6 among NCAA Division I schools. All five of its starters and eight of its 10 regular rotation players came in shooting in 50 percent or better.
But on Tuesday, the Redhawks limited their counterparts from St. Paul to just 37.5 percent overall shooting (21-of-56) and just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) during the second half. The Tommies scored just 21 points after halftime, and their 52 was a season low.
“They’re a really good offensive team and they play a unique style,” said head coach Chris Victor, whose team heads south to Alabama for a round-of-16 showdown against Auburn of the Southeastern Conference on Sunday, March 22. “The way they play is tough for anyone to guard. We had to make some adjustments – this wasn’t a standard game for us.
“When our guys got comfortable and understood what they were guarding and kind of got their feet underneath them a little bit, the defense switched,” he added. “We’ve played tough and physical at the defensive end all year. This might be one of our best defensive performances of the season.”
Down 39-32 after St. Thomas opened the second half with a 6-2 run, Seattle U climbed back in, putting together an 11-0 scoring run to go up 43-39 with 11:56 left. The Redhawks never trailed again, but the Tommies got as close as one, 49-48, with 7:09 still on the clock.
Seattle U effectively put the game away with another 11-0 scoring run. Murphy started it with a 3-pointer from the left corner. Heimbrodt went up to tip in Murphy’s missed lay-in. Heimbrodt then hit two free throws on an ensuing possession, Murphy went for a driving lay-in, and Maldonado swished a pair of free throws.
All of that made it 60-48 at the 1:42 mark. By the time St. Thomas finally got back on the board, just 1:32 remained.
The Redhawks couldn’t get their offense going in the opening minutes of the game, hitting just three of their first 11 shots while dropping into a double-digit hole at 18-8.
But they then found their groove, going on a 19-5 scoring run to take a 29-23 lead. Seattle U went ahead for the first time at 25-23 on a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Yeo with 4:45 left in the half. That came after a successful challenge on an out-of-bound call under the Redhawks’ basket kept them in possession of the ball with 23 seconds still on the shot clock.
“We were kind of feeling them out and getting used to their style of play,” Maldonado said. “Once we started getting the feel of it, we talked it up in the huddle, made some adjustments, and I thought it was really good from there on out.”
Seattle U had a pair of four-point leads after that at 27-23 and 30-26 before St. Thomas finished the half on a 5-0 run, keeping the Redhawks off the board for the final 2:16 to take a 31-30 lead into the break.
By the Numbers
--The Redhawks' defense forced St. Thomas into a pair of long second-half scoring droughts: one of 6 minutes, 10 seconds early in the half, and the other of 5:37 during their second and game-breaking 11-0 run.
--Seattle U shot 37 percent for the game (20-of-54), including 45.8 percent (11-of-24) in the second half.
--Along with his 15 points, Maldonado grabbed six rebounds and handed out five assists.
--Maleek Arington tied his career high with nine rebounds.
--Heimbrodt had three blocked shots, pushing him past 100 for his career.
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