Redhawks Offense Struggles Late, Upset Bid Slips Away in 80-72 OT Loss to Gonzaga
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Seattle U Redhawks center Houran Dan (6) is called for a charge during his drive against Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Adam Miller (23) in the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Gonzaga Bulldogs won 80-72 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images [/caption]
SPOKANE, Wash. - Holding the lead for 34 minutes, the upset-minded Seattle Redhawks had their sights on landing a program-defining win on the road against the perennial powerhouse Gonzaga Bulldogs.
But unfortunately, Cinderella wasn’t quite able to make the slipper fit on Friday night. With every made basket made by the home team in the second half, as the deficit dwindled down to single digits in the closing moments, the fans that packed the McCarthey Athletic Center came alive as it seemed like their Bulldogs were bound to escape the upset bid.
Rapidly closing the gap after trailing by as many as 13 points, Gonzaga quickly crept closer into Seattle U’s rearview mirror and did just that, eventually stealing an 80-72 win away from the Redhawks’ grasp in overtime.
After 20 minutes, the Redhawks led 37-29 and silenced the normally boisterous hometown crowd. Walking through the tunnels back into the locker room holding a somewhat comfortable advantage over the ninth ranked team in the nation, this effort came from all hands-on deck performance for Seattle. Nine players finished the first half with a field goal and John Christofilis, who came into tonight averaging 4.9 points, finished the half with nine points on three three-pointers made off the bench.
Helping pad the unexpected lead as 24.5-point underdogs, the Redhawks made the most of their extra possessions, grabbing nine offensive rebounds and scoring 11 points off turnovers in the opening half.
Meanwhile, the Redhawks shut down the Zags offense in the early going. Though Braden Huff and Graham Ike combined for 22 points, only one other Zag finished the half with a field goal, as the rest of the team couldn’t capitalize on open opportunities with Seattle crashing down hard on Gonzaga’s two standout big men.
However, despite all of this working in Seattle's favor, an eight-point cushion at halftime wasn’t a big lead and the Redhawks couldn't let up the gas if they wanted to secure their first win over a ranked team since 1974. And the Bulldogs were ready to start throwing counter punches as the began to mount their comeback.
In the second half, the Redhawks started to cool off after their hot start, and every Bulldogs basket felt like it could be the one to spark a run they desperately needed. Despite the defensive attention Huff and Ike garnered, Gonzaga kept feeding their talented frontcourt tandem. Seattle swarmed the paint and sent double teams whenever they touched the ball in the high post, and yet, Huff and Ike could not be stopped.
On the other end, Seattle cooled off from three and mistakes did not help out with their halfcourt struggles. Looks in the paint were not as easy to come by as the first 20 minutes, either. Will Heimbrodt finished the game with 10 points and 12 rebounds, but shot 4 for 19 from the field, struggling to finish looks around the rim with Ike serving as a shot blocking menace to disrupt his opportunities. Brayden Maldonado finished with 17 points and five assists, but Gonzaga made every look around the rim tough for the undersized guard, especially down the stretch.
As the game entered crunch time, Gonzaga played its best basketball of the night at the right time. After trailing by 10 with eight minutes in the game, the Bulldogs closed out the half on a 16-6 run and the Redhawks last field goal made came at the 4:37 mark. With the game tied at 65, the Redhawks had one last shot to seal the massive upset, but after two missed shots from Maldonado, the game went into overtime with the Bulldogs having all the momentum.
Overtime saw a similar story as the final eight minutes of regulation, as Gonzaga played like a top-10 team when it mattered most and Seattle U simply ran out of gas. With shots not falling and the Zags staying hot on the other end, the final five minutes weren’t overly competitive and the Redhawks saw one of the biggest potential wins in program history slip away.
It won’t be easy to regroup after coughing up a winnable game on the road against a top-25 state rival, but that’s what the Redhawks will now have to do. Returning back home, a rematch with Washington State looms on Sunday with a chance to pull off the season sweep of the Cougars and further bolster their resume after a missed opportunity in the kennel.
