A strong defensive effort from the Seattle University men’s basketball team could not match their performance on the offensive end against Duke University, currently ranked the ninth best college basketball team in the country. After Seattle U finished the first half with 25 points to Duke’s 37, their luck faded and the team ended up losing by a 22-point difference, 70-48.
The Redhawks played valiantly even with the injury of Senior forward Kobe Williamson. Head coach Chris Victor said he believes that Williamson will return once doctors clear him after a few more weeks of rehab.
“We’re hopeful that he’ll be back at some point this season,” Victor said.
In his fourth year as the coach for Seattle U, Victor said that the team’s accomplishments and availability led to them getting the opportunity to play against Duke. The matchup was a part of the 2024 Vegas Showdown, a two-game series for Seattle which saw the Redhawks face Furman University in Las Vegas Nov. 26 before heading to North Carolina to play Duke. In their head-to-head against Furman, Seattle U lost 61-56.
Victor noticed the team’s nerves in the day leading up to the game against the Blue Devils. There were some things that the team had to clean up offensively and defensively. Overall he’s proud of how the players’ toughness represented Seattle U.
Sophomore forward Malek Gomma scored four points for Seattle U. Gomma also mentioned the team’s nerves, given the large venue packed with Duke fans.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we fought hard so we can be proud of that,” Gomma said.
Still, Gomma believed his team played their hearts out, which they will take into their next game. He expressed that he was proud of his players.
“We all are super grateful for the opportunity and so we went out there and tried to take advantage of it,” Gomma said.Graduate forward Matthew Moncrieffe scored nine points and had 12 rebounds for Seattle U while keeping up strong defense. His past experience playing for Oklahoma State University and the University of Georgia helped him guide the team through their pre-game nerves.
“I thought I played pretty hard. I gave all that I could. Obviously, I didn’t play perfectly. I thought I played well, rebounded well. Everyone played hard,” Moncrieffe said.
Moncrieffe was humble in his reflection of himself and his team. He emphasized the importance of keeping the same intensity that they put into Friday’s game, moving forward to other games in the future.
“We got some dogs, got some guys who are gonna play hard,” Moncrieffe said.
Senior guard Paris Dawson played strong, scoring 10 points for Seattle U. He felt that their defense was competing well, getting the Blue Devils to turn over the ball and play out of character.
“If we keep competing and playing hard, offense is gonna come with time. We’ll get better at that,” Dawson said.
Seattle U’s offense had a tough game, shooting 21% and making only 10 field goals. Moving forward, the team wants to defensively keep the intensity up and fix little errors.
“We’ve been together and it’s just gonna get better from there. We treat each other like a brotherhood,” Dawson said.
The Redhawks aren’t done growing and playing games. Conference play will begin in January, with more non-conference games to test their skills coming in December. Although the loss to Duke was not what the team hoped for, the rest of their season is full of opportunity.
