“Defense wins championships” but not when the offense can’t back it up.
Seattle University Men’s Basketball played their last game in the West Coast Athletic Conference, the predecessor to the West Coast Conference (WCC), March 1, 1980, when they took on the University of San Francisco (USF) Dons in San Francisco. Seattle U’s final game in the conference ended with the Dons securing the win, 59-71.
It was a full circle moment Sunday night when the Redhawks kicked off their new, and returning, tenure in the WCC, falling to the Dons 59-67, putting an end to Seattle U’s six-game winning streak.
Both teams struggled to get shots to fall throughout the matchup. Seattle U shot only 27.4% (20-73) from the field, 17.4% (4-23) from the three-point line and 32% (16-50) from the two throughout the contest. Redshirt sophomore forward Will Heimbrodt picked up his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Heimbrodt and senior guard Brayden Maldonado were the only Redhawks to score in the double digits.
“When you’re 16 for 50 from two, you’re not gonna win many games,” Head Coach Chris Victor said.
On the visiting end, the Dons shot 35.7% (20-56) overall, 30.8% (8-26) on three-pointers and 40% (12-30) on two-point field goals. Four Dons players tallied double-digit points, with grad-student guard Vukasin Masic leading the way. Masic dropped 15 points, going 3-4 from beyond the arc.
It was apparent early that this game wasn’t going to be a good one offensively for the Redhawks. Despite winning the tip-off, Seattle U missed four attempts in a row before senior guard Maleek Arington made a driving layup on a fast break to put Seattle U on the board first, almost two minutes into the contest.
There were two lead changes after that, with the Dons taking control with 16:15 left to play in the first. USF didn’t let go of the lead until there were just over two minutes left to play, with their largest scoring margin being eight points early in the half. After another two lead changes, Seattle U went into halftime trailing by two, 30-32.
The Dons showed that they were the more dominant team that night, showing off their scoring ability in the second half with Masic draining a three to extend their lead. USF continued to expand on their lead, never leading by less than eight points for a majority of the half.
It was looking like it was over for the Redhawks, but this was until Maldonado drained a jumper and was brought to the line after being fouled on the shot. Maldonado completed the three-point play, continuing his free-throw streak with his 29th in a row. Maldonado is currently 50-51 on free throws, which puts him first in the WCC and fourth in the nation.
After Maldonado’s three-point play, the Redhawks continued their run with Heimbrodt scoring a driving lay, followed by sophomore center Austin Maurer draining a pair of free throws after being fouled on a dunk attempt that went in and out of the basket. Senior forward Junseok Yeo scored a lay-in of his own, bringing the Redhawks within two of the Dons.
The crowd got into it with chants of “Defense! Defense!” echoing throughout the Redhawk Center, but those chants may have over-motivated the Redhawks defense as Maurer fouled USF’s David Fuchs, bringing him to the line. Fuchs went 1-2 but was brought back up to the line three more times, where he went 5-6, extending the Dons’ lead 54-60.
The Redhawks made a few attempts at a comeback, but the Dons ran away with it, securing the road win 59-67, giving Seattle U just its third loss of the season.
“When you’re not shooting the ball well, you gotta make every single play. We didn’t make every play, they made more plays than we did, and that’s why we lost the game,” Maldonado said.
The Redhawks are staying home after one day of rest, taking on their fourth in-state opponent this season in Washington State University Dec. 30 at Climate Pledge Arena. After this, the team will hit the road Jan. 2 and head to Spokane to face Gonzaga University, which is currently ranked seventh in the nation.
“It’s next game mentality. You have good shooting nights, bad shooting nights and tonight was a bad shooting night. All you gotta do is get back in the gym, get more shots up, keep working on it,” Arington said.
