Redhawks Squeak Out Defensive Slugfest, Edge Toreros in WCC Tournament
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1080"]
Seattle Redhawks guards Brayden Maldonado and John Christofilis celebrate after a made basket against the San Diego Toreros. Credit: Seattle U Men’s Basketball/Instagram [/caption]
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - In March postseason basketball, offenses tend to slow down. A heavier emphasis is put on guys stepping up running half court offense and games come down to who can play better in crunch time. The Seattle U Redhawks needed both of those factors to go their way as they squeaked out a 58-56 win over the University of San Diego Friday night at the Orleans Arena in the second round of the WCC tournament.
Seattle led by the eventual final score with 1:43 left to play, and its defense hunkered down. The Toreros came up empty handed on their last three possessions, failing to capitalize on chances to knot it up or take a late lead. Their final possession came off a missed layup from Seattle’s Will Heimbrodt with 11 seconds left. On the other end, San Diego missed a potential walk off three and missed the game tying layup off an offensive rebound, allowing the Redhawks to breathe a sigh of relief as their season stayed alive.
Seattle’s effort late came off the back of a veteran who has been a closer for the team over the past month in guard Jojo Murphy. Murphy delivered off the bench with 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals, both of which led to fastbreak layups. Whether it's starting in place of Brayden Maldonado, starting alongside him, or coming off the bench, his effort has been something head coach Chris Victor can always depend on.
Victor needed everything he could get from Murphy down the stretchd, as even though San Diego played in its second game in as many days, the Toreros played with more pace and won the hustle plays in the first half.
“We were a little tentative coming out of the gate,” Murphy said postgame. “Coach told us to be ourselves, play together, be connected and we had to be more physical. They were beating us on the rebound battle, so that was the emphasis coming out of half time and we just came out here and executed that.”
The physicality the Redhawks brought, especially in the second half, gave them the edge in a game with slim margin for error. Seattle posted a 36-12 advantage on point in the paint and Heimbrodt set the tone attacking early, as he had Seattle’s first seven points to open the half. He finished with a team-high 16 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block.
For Heimbrodt, the sophomore is hitting his stride at the perfect time. Over his last five games, he is averaging 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal on 54% from the field. His impact as a creator Friday night became more vital as Seattle’s top scorer Maldonado struggled in his second game back from injury.
Maldonado finished with two points and five assists on 1-9 shooting and went 0-5 from three-point range. San Diego stayed with the star guard all night and consistently forced tough looks for the senior. Outside of just Maldonado, the Redhawks as a whole struggled from three. They finished just 3-21 from behind the arc while the Toreros shot 8-22, which allowed the underdogs to hang tough in the final 20 minutes.
“You got to give credit to San Diego, they were mixing up defenses, they were keeping us off balance, they were changing matchups and coverages and we never really got into a rhythm on offense,” Victor said.
San Diego led for 19 minutes and strung together multiple runs that gave the lower seed a lead. These runs came off the back of Seattle’s own self-inflicted mistakes. With the Redhawks leading 54-46 with a little over five minutes remaining, Houran Dan was called for a technical at the end of the shot clock on a defensive possession. The Toereros hit both technical free throws and nailed a three pointer before forcing a stop and sinking another three pointer to cap off an 8-0 run and tie the game at 52.
Fortunately for Victor’s squad, Seattle’s defense recovered from that flurry of baskets, allowing just four points and no field goals for the remainder of regulation to escape with the win and advance to the next round of the WCC tournament.
“That was a big swing,” Victor remarked. “Sometimes you need those blows to go your way. Tonight they didn’t, but I’m really proud of this team.”
Keeping their slim hopes of making a deep WCC tournament alive after an uneven regular season conference schedule, the Redhawks will now play the sixth seeded Pacific Tigers on Saturday night at 8:30 PM PT with a chance to advance to the quarterfinals. If they find a way to move on, a battle with the Santa Clara Broncos would loom on Sunday.
