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# Brayden Maldonado’s Heroics in Return Lead Redhawks to 71-66 Win Over Lions
- URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/brayden-maldonado-returns-seattle-redhawks-beat-lmu-lions/
- Published: 2026-03-02T19:44:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T05:35:52.000Z
- Author: Hayden Wysup
- Tags: Game Day, Analysis, Redhawks, Brayden Maldonado, Chris Victor, Will Heimbrodt, Austin Maurer, John Christofilis, Maleek Arington, Jojo Murphy

\[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1080"\]

![  Seattle Redhawks guard Brayden Maldonado drives to the basket for a layup against the LMU Lions. Credit: Seattle U Men’s Basketball/Instagram  ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/642150791_18573845638031365_2181634049009520735_n-format-original.jpg)

Seattle Redhawks guard Brayden Maldonado drives to the basket for a layup against the LMU Lions. Credit: Seattle U Men’s Basketball/Instagram \[/caption\]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - In his first game back in the lineup, Brayden Maldonado did not miss a beat, having his best game of the season and helping the Seattle Redhawks get over a second-half hump that has plagued them all season for the 71-66 over LMU Saturday night at the Gersten Pavilion. 

Maldonado returned to the lineup after missing the previous three games with an injury and finished with a season-high 33 points. He put the Redhawks on his shoulders offensively, impacting the game in a variety of ways.

Coming off screens, the Lions opted not to send multiple defenders at him, and the guard found his way into the paint driving to the hoop frequently. He attempted 12 free throws and converted on nine of them. He also matched a season-high in three pointers made with six. He made multiple tough shots coming off screens and gave LMU defenders trouble all night. 

Coming into Saturday, the Redhawks were 2-9 when trailing at halftime. Seattle trailed 32-29 at the half and while Maldonado got it going early, the question remained: who else besides Maldonado was going to step up in order to curb that second half issue? 

Junseok Yeo did not play on Saturday either, which put an even bigger emphasis on the guys who were available to step up. But Will Heimbrodt stepped up in a big way in the second half, continuing his recent surge. Heimbrodt was relatively quiet in the first half, even leaving at one point with an injury, but he found his groove in the final 20 minutes, finishing the game with 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

Heimbrodt asserted himself into the offense by posting up on the smaller defenders LMU put on him. Instead of passing out after initially being cut off, he worked in the paint and got looks around the rim he did not have in the first half, capitalizing with several easy buckets.

Seattle also got nine points from Austin Maurer and eight from John Christofilis, but for the most part it was the Maldonado show. Seattle finished the game with just 10 points from its bench, a detour from the strong production offered from non-starters while the star guard had been sidelined.

For most of the contest, both teams were in a stalemate, with neither squad being able to make it more than a two-possession game. While Seattle has struggled late in games, Victor’s squad played their best down the stretch on this particular night.

Seattle trailed 55-50 with 6:30 left to play, only to string together a 13-4 run. Maldonado got the party started on the left wing, getting to his spot and letting the Lion defender fly by him on the pump fake before draining a three. A couple of possessions later, he got into the lane and hoisted a push shot to give Seattle the lead.

In the final play of that sequence, Seattle’s Maleek Arington dove for a loose ball and got it to Maldonado, who shot it up court to Jojo Murphy, where the guard finished over the outstretched arms of LMU’s 6-6 guard Rodney Brown to extend the advantage and help put the Lions away for good. LMU tried its luck fouling to lengthen the game, but not enough broke their way for the comeback attempt to manifest. 

Saturday’s win over LMU and Wednesdays win over Pepperdine marked the only road wins in conference play for Seattle U, but they will ride that momentum into the WCC tournament with a higher seed and a chance to potentially make some noise in a wide-open field away from co-champions Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.