A sigh of relief drifted throughout the crowd when Senior guard Brayden Maldonado gave Seattle University Men’s Basketball the lead 71-67 with 25 seconds left in their matchup versus the Cal Poly Mustangs Nov. 3. That relief didn’t last long, as the Mustangs responded with a three pointer from Kieran Elliot, bringing Seattle U’s lead to just one point, 71-70. Senior guard JoJo Murphy came up to the line shooting 1-and-1, but the free-throw attempt bounced off the back of the rim, and Cal Poly was able to secure the rebound.
Hearts racing, Seattle U fans stood as Cal Poly’s Jake Davis worked the ball up the court, fighting against the Redhawks’ defense. Despite stumbling and even losing control of the ball for a split-second, Davis drained a three-point swish at the buzzer, securing the win for the Mustangs 71-73.
“Gotta give Cal Poly credit, they kept fighting,” head coach Chris Victor said.
The Redhawks Center was packed to capacity with fans, students and families as this game capped off an eventful Homecoming Week and Parents and Family Weekend.
Seattle U was coming off a hot start to the season, having taken down the University of Denver in an 84-73 victory Nov. 3.
Redshirt Sophomore forward Will Heimbrodt struck first for the Redhawks with an easy driving layup to start off the game. From there, it was a game of call and response throughout the first half, with both teams scoring from all parts of the court. Senior guard John Christofilis picked up his first three-pointer of the year off the bench, followed by Heimbrodt draining a three-pointer of his own, which brought the score to 15-11. Cal Poly’s Guzman Vasilic would answer back with a three-point jumper, bringing the Redhawks’ lead to just one point, 15-14.
The first half also saw the emergence of Murphy, a former DII All-American, who came off the bench and dropped seven in the first half, going 3-5 on field goals and picking up a couple of rebounds.
“It’s been good so far. It’s been really welcoming. The group as a collective, I like our principles and our standard. It’s been a good experience so far,” Murphy commented on his time at Seattle U.
The Redhawks would get out to a nine point lead 32-23, but the Mustangs would slowly work their way back, regaining the lead after a two and a half minute period where Seattle U didn’t score. Cal Poly would go into halftime leading 38-39.
The Redhawks got a hot start to the second half, going on an uncontested 10-0 run. Sophomore center Austin Maurer picked up his first three-point basket to start off the half, followed by a turnover where Maurer got his hands on the ball again, scoring on a hookshot assisted by senior forward Junseok Yeo. Scores from Heimbrodt, Yeo and Murphy would give Seattle U a 49-39 lead. Cal Poly would go on offensive runs of their own, but Seattle U still maintained a 10-point lead with 5:36 to go.
Turnovers, fouls and missed free throws would eventually lead to the team’s decline. Yeo and Heimbrodt would both foul out of the game with just a couple of minutes left, causing coach Victor to call on the bench. The Redhawks attempted to hold the Mustangs, but it wasn’t enough to pull out the win.
“We missed a bunch of free throws in that stretch, we couldn’t get defensive rebounds in that stretch, and then it came down to that last-second shot that went in for him,” Victor said. “They were hot early and made a bunch of threes. They had 14 offensive rebounds and got a bunch of extra possessions, too. In the end, we just didn’t make enough winning plays.”
Heimbrodt led the team in scoring during this game, with Maldonado close behind; the two players scored 20 and 18 points, respectively. Despite leading the team in points, Heimbrodt also had the most turnovers for the Redhawks during this matchup.
“I didn’t feel like I played all that well. I mean, I scored some points, but like coach said there were a lot of plays we didn’t make, myself included. I turned the ball over and defensively I gotta be more disciplined… Scoring is good, it’s always good to score… at the end of the day, if I can’t do everything else, it doesn’t mean much,” Heimbrodt commented on his performance.
At the time of publishing Seattle U defeated Eastern Washington 94-67, bringing their record to 2-1. Seattle U finalizes their four game homestand taking on Idaho State Nov. 15.
