Redhawks Second Half Miscues Persist in 68-55 Loss to Beavers
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Seattle U Redhawks guard Brayden Maldonado (0) talks with Seattle U Redhawks head coach Chris Victor during a game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images [/caption]
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Even with four days for Chris Victor’s team to sit on the mistakes that let their 93-76 loss to Saint Mary’s on Sunday, the Seattle Redhawks three-game losing streak continued on Thursday night due to the same mistakes compounding on them in their 68-55 loss to the Oregon State Beavers inside the Gill Coliseum.
As had been the case in their previous two losses, rebounding continued to be a major problem for Seattle. The Gaels outrebounded the Redhawks 46-19 and allowed 21 second chance points in Sunday’s defeat and while the difference was only 46-37 on Thursday, they allowed 25 second chance points, which proved to be the difference maker in what was a close contest for a majority of the game.
Away from giving up far too many second chance opportunities, Seattle also missed on several clean looks near the basket that the team normally would cash in on, as plenty of potential Redhawk buckets were left on the floor. While the Beavers defense played with great effort, the Redhawks second half shooting struggles also were a result of mental lapses.
Leading the Redhawks, guard Brayden Maldonado finished the game with 13 points and saw a lot of attention from the Beavers defense. They blitzed him on screens and forced the ball out of his hands as much as they could. While in the first half he was able to find clean looks off ball by cutting, those looks disappeared in the second half and he didn’t score at all in the final 20 minutes.
Will Heimbrodt regularly blew past taller Beaver defenders off the dribble to get into the paint, but as has been the case in multiple games this year, the sophomore just could not convert near the basket. He finished with eight points on 2-13 shooting and did not score a field goal in the second half. Junseok Yeo finished with six points but shot 0-6 from beyond the arc, going ice cold from downtown.
While Seattle remained in the game and only trailed Oregon State by two at half, for the third game in a row, Seattle played its worst basketball down the strtech. The Redhawks exited the game making just one of their last 13 field goal attempts and fell into a double digit deficit despite the Beavers not exactly lighting it up from the field either.
The officials called the game pretty close for both sides, with each team shooting 29 and 26 free throws respectively. However, Seattle shot 54% from the line while Oregon State shot 79%, which also wound up being a significant development in the final outcome. Maldonado caught a brunt of the calls, fouling out by the end of the game and having to miss a crucial stretch on the bench in the second half because of foul trouble.
After the loss tonight, Seattle dropped to 1-4 in conference play after a red-hot start in non-conference play. Mistakes have killed the Redhawks in this three-game road trip, but they will return home next Thursday as they take on San Diego in an effort to get back on track before getting another crack at Gonzaga on Saturday in what could be a defining week for their season.
