Multiple Redhawks Step Up Off Bench in 60-50 Win Over Beavers
SEATTLE, Wash. - Midway through the first half, the Seattle U Redhawks leading scorer, Brayden Maldonado, exited to the locker room with a lower body injury. Typically, this would spell doom for a mid-major college basketball program, especially one that has struggled as much as Chris Victor’s team has on the offensive side of the court all season long.
But despite the devastating loss for Seattle with Maldonado unable to return to play, it was all hands-on deck for John Christofilis and the Redhawks as they managed to fill that void with 37 points off the bench and come away with the 60-50 win over Oregon State on Sunday night at the Redhawk Center.
After Maldonado exited in the first half, Christofilis immediately made an impact, scoring 13 of his 16 points in the first half and finishing the game with four three pointers made. With Maldonado’s absence being felt in spacing the floor, Christofilis made sure the offense did not miss a beat in that department. Hitting on several catch and shoot opportunities and a few shots coming off screens with a high degree of difficulty, he scorched the net for the Redhawks.
“We were seeing it go through, we had guys making shots, John Christofilis came out and made a lot of big shots for us, so finding that hot hand was super important,” Jojo Murphy said post-game.
In addition to Christofilis’ efforts off the bench, Will Heimbrodt had nine of his 15 total points in the first half and was the only Redhawk starter to eclipse double digit points. While he shot a poor 3-9 from the free throw line, the aggressiveness he showed all night is a good sign for Victor as his sophomore forward will have to pick up some of the shot creating responsibilities if Maldonado is to miss extended time.
After 20 minutes, the Redhawks led 36-18 and along with their offense stepping up, their defense held the Beavers to their lowest first half point total of the season. All night, Seattle U pressured ball handlers on screens, disrupting Oregon State’s guards. They limited the Beavers leading scorer, Josiah Lake, to just three points. The Redhawks have gotten the better hand of Lake, holding him to four points in their first meeting and a season-low on Sunday.
Instead, the Redhawks forced other Beavers to step up as they cut into the lead in the second half. Matija Samar and Jorge Diaz Graham had a combined 26 points off the bench and helped orchestrate a 14-2 run in the second half to trim the Redhawks lead to just nine points.
Amid that Oregon State run, it was key contributors off the Seattle bench that stepped up to close out the game. Murphy played a season-high 31 minutes and took on a lot of the ball handling duties with Maldonado out. He finished with 11 points, nine of which came in the second half. Houran Dan battled foul trouble but still finished with 10 points, also making a major splash off the bench.
In addition to getting key scoring contributions from unexpected sources, despite Oregon State trotting out a lengthier lineup than Seattle, the Redhawks still won the rebounding and second chance points battles that killed them last time these teams met back in January. The trio of Heimbrodt, Murphy, and Dan also found success attacking the basket, helping Seattle attempt 21 free throws. While Oregon State attempts the most free throws in the WCC, they only had 11 on Sunday night and it was Seattle that took advantage of those extra looks at the charity stripe.
After stopping a red-hot Beavers team that had won four out of their last five, the Redhawks will return to action Wednesday hosting the Saint Mary's Gaels at Climate Pledge Arena at 6 PM PT aiming to continue building momentum as the WCC schedule nears the finish line.
