After riding a season high five-game winning streak, the Seattle University men’s basketball team has now lost three straight after dropping two games on the road last week.
On Thursday, the Redhawks were defeated by UTRGV by a score of 67-57. The Redhawks jumped out to a 15-5 lead early but the Vaqueros battled back to lead by 10 at halftime, fueled by a 17-4 scoring run. The Redhawks clamped down on defense in the second half, forcing the Vaqueros to 10-of-30 shooting from the floor as well as out rebounding the Vaqueros 45-33 for the game.
But the Redhawks shooting woes proved insurmountable as they shot just 36 percent from the floor, including 2-of-16 from the three-point line. They were effective in getting to the free throw line 23 times for the game but were only able to convert 15 of those attempts. The Redhawks also lost the turnover battle 13-7 and the Vaqueros managed to get 13 points off of those 13 Redhawk turnovers.
Senior center Jack Crook led all Redhawks in scoring and matched a career high with 22 points. He also pulled down ten rebounds to collect his third double-double of the season. Junior forward William Powell also collected a double-double with 10 points and a team-leading 13 rebounds, matching his career high.
On Saturday, the Redhawks lost a hard fought contest against the WAC-leading New Mexico State Aggies by the score of 70-57. The Redhawks led by three at halftime after their defense held the conference’s top shooting team to just 26 percent shooting from the floor. The Aggies turned it around in the second half though and shot 12-25 from the floor, including hitting four of seven three point attempts. The Aggies were also able to get to the free throw line 23 times in the second half, successfully converting 18 of those attempts.
After pulling down just 15 rebounds as a team in their last contest against the Aggies, the Redhawks made their presence felt in the paint in this game and hauled in 38 rebounds, just one behind the Aggies, who lead the WAC in team rebounding. However, the 20 turnovers by the Redhawks were too much to overcome as the Aggies were able to capitalize on those mistakes and score 25 points off those turnovers.
The Redhawks (12-14, 6-6 WAC) will look to end their three game losing streak this Saturday as they head back to Key Arena to take on Utah Valley in their final home game of the regular season.
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