Late Game Mishaps Derail Redhawks’ Spirited Comeback vs. Gaels in 72-70 Loss

With the question of who fill the void of Brayden Maldonado after his ankle injury on Sunday against Oregon State, multiple Redhawks did their best to pick up the slack for Seattle U in a critical home game on Wednesday night.

But in a matchup against a 23-4 Saint Mary’s squad, an already shorthanded Redhawk squad made too many mistakes down the stretch to finish off a torrid comeback attempt, falling short in 72-70 loss to the Gaels at Climate Pledge Arena.

Despite trailing by as much as 14 points in the first quarter, Seattle stormed back in the second half and both teams were tied at 67 with about 1:30 left to play. On offense, the Redhawks had the ball in the hands of Jojo Murphy, who made his first start of the season in place of Maldonado. With a chance to take the lead, the senior guard drove into the lane but lost the ball for a costly turnover. On the other end, Saint Mary’s capitalized, turning to Mikey Lewis in isolation as the sophomore guard finished high off the glass for the go-ahead bucket.