For the first time since 1957, the Seattle University Men’s Basketball competed in the NCAA National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The Redhawks earned a bid as a number four seed, taking on St. Thomas University March 17, back home in the Redhawk Center. Despite a slow start, five Redhawks scoring in the double digits and a strong defensive showing led Seattle U to a first-round win 67-52, sending the Redhawks to Neville Arena to take on the number one seed, Auburn University.
“It goes back to how much this program has grown,” Head Coach Chris Victor said. “A lot of people have worked hard since we’ve gotten back to Division 1… This is a great step. The NIT is such a big-time tournament, and to get a bid to come host a NIT game in Seattle and get the win, it’s a great moment for our program.”
St. Thomas got out on top early after winning the tip with Redshirt Sophomore forward Ben Oosterbaan putting up a layup in the first 15 seconds of the matchup. The Tommies picked up another score seconds later, giving them a 0-4 lead, but Seattle U responded back with Senior Guard Brayden Maldonado draining a three to bring the Redhawks’ deficit to just one point. St. Thomas’ leading scorer, Sophomore Guard Nolan Minessale, showed off his strong game in the paint, being able to finish through contact and add another tally to St. Thomas’s lead. Senior Guard Junseok Yeo was able to tie up the score 6-6, making a three-pointer of his own, but the strong St. Thomas offense was able to regain their lead, holding it for a majority of the quarter.
After being down 10-20 midway through the first half, the Redhawks were able to find their offensive stride. Coming off the bench, Senior Guards JoJo Murphy and John Christofilis both picked up a couple of three-point baskets, helping lead Seattle U to a 9-0 run, bringing the Redhawks’ deficit to just one point, 19-20. Murphy and Christofilis both ended the night with 10 points.
St. Thomas answered back with a three, giving the Tommies a four-point lead, but Seattle U followed up with back-to-back threes of their own. The first came from Maldonado and the second came from Yeo, assisted by Senior Guard Maleek Arington, taking their first lead of the game. With their offense gaining momentum, the Redhawks led 30-26 with 2:16 left to play in the first.
St. Thomas regained control moments before halftime, going on a 5-0 run, giving them the lead going into the second half, 30-31.
The Redhawks gave up six straight points to begin the second half and got down 32-39. Seattle U clawed their way back, going on an 11-0 scoring run, regaining the lead once again, 43-39. The Redhawks never lost the lead for the rest of the matchup.
“I think we were very undisciplined to start the half, lackadaisical, I think is a good word for it. We kind of came out and were careless with the basketball…I think we locked in even more, especially going down like that,” Maldonado said.
The Tommies attempted to fight back, bringing the score to 49-48 with 7:09 left to play, but Redshirt Sophomore forward Will Heimbrodt, Murphy and Maldonado put a stop to this attempt, going on yet another 11-0 run. The Redhawks sealed the win 67-52, advancing to the second round of the tournament.
Heimbrodt shone in the second half, finding his offensive stride and adding to Seattle U’s defensive efforts. Heimbrodt scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half, all coming from inside the paint. The sophomore also showed why he was named the WCC Defensive Player of the Year, picking up three more blocks to bring his season total to 86.
Coming into this matchup, St. Thomas was ranked sixth in Division 1 Basketball for field goal percentage, shooting 51 percent from the field. Their strong offense showed as the Redhawks struggled at first to adjust to their heavy offensive style. 
“The way they play is tough, it’s tough for anyone to guard… We had to make some adjustments, it wasn’t a standard game for us. We switched up our rotations. We had to change out matchups a lot throughout the game, but when these guys got comfortable and understood what they were guarding and got their feet underneath them, the defense switched,” Victor said.
Once they figured out how to tackle the St. Thomas offense, the Redhawks were able to hold the Tommies to just 37.5% from the field throughout the game and 29.6% in the second half.
At the time of publishing, the Redhawks have ended their season, falling to Auburn 85-91. Though their season has come to an end, Seattle U had a solid start to their tenure in the WCC. The Redhawks had their fourth 20-plus win season in the last five years (21-14), picked up a couple of wins against Power 4 teams and finished the regular season tied for fifth place in the WCC.
“We’ve showed that we can beat some really good teams. We had an ACC win, a Big 10 win… I think we can hang in there with anyone,” Heimbrodt said.
