Late Game Mishaps Derail Redhawks’ Spirited Comeback vs. Gaels in 72-70 Loss
SEATTLE, Wash. - 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.
On the other end, Junseok Yeo, who had led the way all night for the Redhawks, took two trips to the line, making three of four from the charity stripe. After a Redhawks defensive stop, they led by one and tried to get Yeo coming off a ball screen, but Maleek Arington’s pass sailed out of bounds, forcing the home team to go into foul mode. A missed Saint Mary’s free throw gave Seattle five seconds for a chance at the go-ahead three without any timeouts left, but Murphy’s shot hit back iron, sealing a gut-wrenching loss.
These critical mistakes in the closing moments were not just the Gaels cracking down defensively with the game on the line, but a recurring theme all night for Chris Victor’s squad. Saint Mary’s converted 12 Seattle turnovers into 25 points in what became the deciding factor to offset an otherwise impressive offensive performance from the Maldonado-less Redhawks.
Yeo stepped up big time in light of Maldonado's absence. The senior scored 20 points and initiated a lot of the offense running through him. While always a threat from behind the arc, Yeo only made two three pointers, instead relying on getting to the basket as a driver. He took defenders off the dribble all night and did not shy away from contact as he earned seven trips to the free throw line.
This aggressiveness helped spark a Seattle offense that in the early going looked like it might be outclassed without Maldonado. The Redhawks started 2-11 from the field and looked stagnant without their star point guard, and the Gaels raced out to a 21-7 lead. Multiple possessions in the opening minutes ended with tough shots as a result of passing around the three point line and minimal touches in the paint.
On the other end, Saint Mary’s posted up their star forward Paulius Murauskas, regularly feeding him inside. His size gave Seattle problems early, as Yeo, Will Heimbrodt, and Arington all struggled guarding him. When catching the ball on the wing, he got to the rim for easy looks, or made the right pass when the double came.
In the second half, however, Seattle stopped settling for low quality shots and starting driving to the hoop for higher percentage opportunities. Along with Yeo, Heimbrodt finished with 14 points on 7-10 shooting as both players regularly got to the rack. Even Seattle’s guards, Murphy and Arington, shot a combined 10 free throws. The stark contrast in shot selection is what led to Seattle shooting 34% from the field in the first half and 57% in the second half.
Helping aid the comeback in the final 20 minutes, Murauskas picked up his third and fourth fouls on back-to-back possessions. Saint Mary’s opted to take him out for a large chunk of the half, but when he came back in, the junior's night ended after picking up his fifth foul on a loose ball foul trying to grab an offensive rebound.
Without Murauskas, the Gaels leaned on Lewis, who had 15 of his 22 points in the second half, while Andrew Mckeever proved to be a matchup problem with 11 of his 15 points coming in the second half. Their 26 combined second half points coupled with crucial Redhawk mistakes on the other end derailed what would have been a signature in conference victory for Seattle.
Following Seattle’s 10th loss of WCC play, Victor is most likely past the point of moral victories, but a 42-point second half against the Gaels has to be a good sign for Redhawks, who have most of their tough WCC matchups behind them. While Maldonado is not expected to be sidelined for long, the right guys stepped up on Wednesday and will need to bring the same energy in a rematch with Portland on Saturday at 7 PM PT at the Connolly Center.
