With a 1-5 record this week across three different sports, there was little fanfare for Seattle University athletics. Both men’s and women’s basketball teams dropped a combined three games against Grand Canyon University (GCU) and California Baptist University (CBU) teams, and both men’s tennis matches in Portland were losses against Portland State University and the University of Portland.
The standout of the week was a riveting away win for the men’s basketball team by one point against CBU.
Men’s Tennis Drops Both Matches in Portland
After starting off the year with a win against University of California Riverside (4-1), Seattle U Men’s Tennis has lost their last four matches. Their most recent defeat came in a tight match between the Redhawks and Vikings of Portland State (3-4) Feb. 2, and then against Portland (1-6) Feb. 3.
On Friday against Portland State, there was a strong showing from Junior Filip Stipic and Sophomore Yu-Han Hsieh, who scored a 6-2 match victory in their doubles. Juniors Jun Sasagawa and Veselin Kiselkov would lose their doubles match by a score of 5-7.
Both Stipic and Kiselkov defeated their opponents to earn singles points, with Sasagawa, Hsieh and Senior Julian Worn all dropping their matches to leave the overall score 3-3. Junior Michael Frank was then ultimately defeated to leave the overall score as a 3-4 loss.
Continuing their road trip Feb. 3, the team faced Portland and lost all of their double matches except one that did not finish. Junior Michael Frank scored the sole singles point.
The team will travel to Newberg, Ore. for a matchup against George Fox University Feb. 9.
Women’s Basketball Continues Skid, Drops to 1-19 on Season
The Redhawks were unable to keep the first half momentum going into both second halves of two home games this week, losing both matchups.
Despite the losses, Sophomore guard Makayla Moore tallied a team-high 11 points on 3-9 shooting against GCU Feb. 1. The game was tied going into the half, but in the second half, the team was outscored by the Lopes 32-19. GCU would win the game 53-40.
The team’s game against CBU was competitive, but ultimately still culminated in an 86-77 loss.
Senior guard Peyton Howard (11) and Sophomore forward Mya Moore (13) both set new career-highs in rebounds. There were four Redhawks in double-figures including Howard (10), Moore (15), Junior guard Julianna Walker (17) and Makayla Moore (10).
The next game is Feb. 8, the first of two road games, starting at 4 p.m. against Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas.
Men’s Basketball Splits Road Trip, Takes Down CBU, Loses to GCU
The Redhawks started their road trip down in Phoenix, Ariz. Feb. 1 to take on GCU.
Throughout the first half, the teams traded shots, with Sophomore guard John Christofilis pacing the Redhawks with four 3-pointers and 14 points in the first half. GCU’s lead was cut to five as they headed into the second half.
GCU opened the half with an 11-2 run that gave the Lopes their largest lead of the night. Seattle U fought back in, with Senior guard Alex Schumacher converting a layup off a turnover that led to Redshirt Senior guard Cameron Tyson scoring the team’s next eight.
After a back-and-forth stretch, Schumacher hit a clutch jumper in the paint with 31 seconds to play, and the team forced a shot clock violation to send the game to overtime.
In the overtime session, GCU scored five straight, and Seattle U couldn’t get back into the fight, losing 95-88.
Tyson led the way in scoring with 20, and Schumacher added 19 along with Christofilis. Junior forward Kobe Williamson finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Next up on the schedule was CBU, another tough road game with Seattle U’s away record standing at 1-7 after the loss to Grand Canyon.
With a deficit of only four heading into the half, the Redhawks looked poised to mount a run but that wasn’t the case. Heading into the final four minutes of play the team was down 58-51 but a Schumacher three helped the team to close the lead.
CBU’s Dominique Daniels Jr. sank two free throws with 1:03 remaining, bumping the Lancer’s lead to four. Tyson answered back with a layup and forced a jump ball turnover after, giving the Redhawks the ball with 20 seconds left.
With the Redhawks trailing 60-58, Schumacher drove to the basket and spun for a layup, only to miss with nine seconds remaining. Williamson was able to grab the offensive rebound down two and converted an and-one putback to send him to the line tied 60-60 with 6.7 seconds, where he converted the free throw. The Redhawks were able to hold on to the 61-60 win, propelling the team’s record to 13-9 on the season.
Tyson led all scorers with 18 points, Schumacher added 15 points, four assists and two rebounds.
The team returns to Seattle to play in Climate Pledge Arena Feb. 8 to play Abilene Christian University and Tarleton Feb. 10 at the Redhawk Center.
