Seattle U Men’s Basketball Pulls Off Comeback Win Over NSU

KENT, Washington  -- The Seattle University men’s basketball team once again showed its fight and resilience, coming back from a double-digit deficit to defeat Norfolk State, 70-67, Thursday night in the third annual ShoWare College Classic at the ShoWare Center.

Down 56-45 with 10:52 left in the second half, the Redhawks scored seven unanswered points over the next three minutes to pull to within four at 56-52. Norfolk State held off Seattle U’s comeback attempt over the next four minutes, trading baskets with the Redhawks and opening a seven-point advantage at 67-60 with 3:19 remaining on a layup by Anell Alexis, the last points the Spartans would score.

Isiah Umipig (Federal Way, Wash.) hit a free throw, and after the Redhawks forced a turnover, Clarence Trent (Tacoma, Wash.) hit his third three-pointer of the night to close the deficit to four at 67-63. The Spartans missed two shots and committed another turnover, and Umipig nailed a three-pointer to pull Seattle U to within one at 67-66 with 1:13 left in regulation.

Trent pulled down the rebound off a Spartan missed three-pointer and, after a timeout, D’Vonne Pickett Jr. (Seattle, Wash.) drove the lane and hit a layup to give the Redhawks their first lead since the score was 13-12 five-and-a-half minutes into the first half.

Norfolk State missed a shot on the ensuing possession, but was able to pull down the offensive rebound for a second chance. Deshaun Sunderhaus (Conyers, Ga.) blocked a shot attempt by Malcolm Hawkins, and Umipig made two free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining on the clock to complete the comeback and extend Seattle U’s winning streak to five games.

“It took a lot of guts and a lot of scrapping tonight. We tried to contain them in the first half, but they had a good rhythm. In the second half, we turned the pressure up on them and created some turnovers. On offense, we resisted the urge to go too fast and really played sound basketball. Once we got into the bonus, we continually attacked the basket and saw success,” Seattle U head coach Cameron Dollar said.

Sunderhaus and Umipig each finished with 18 points, with Sunderhaus shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line to go along with a team-high five rebounds. Trent contributed 17 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals, and as a team, the Redhawks shot 44 percent (22-of-50) from the field and 77.8 percent (21-of-27) from the free throw line.
For Norfolk State, Hawkins led all players with 22 points, with Alexis collecting 11 points and Brandon Goode contributing 10 points. After shooting 51.5 percent from the field (17-of-33) and committing only three turnovers in the first half, the Spartans fell victim to Seattle U’s pressure defense, hitting only 38.1 percent (8-of-21) of their second half field goal attempts and turning the ball over 13 times after halftime, leading to 21 Redhawk points in the second half.

Box Score: Seattle U 70, Norfolk State 67

Game Notes - Norfolk State (Dec. 19, 2013)

Seattle U scored the first three points of the game on a jumper by Jack Crook (Manchester, England) and a free throw by Umipig, but Norfolk State answered with six straight points. Back-to-back three-pointers from Trent put the Redhawks ahead, 11-10, but Pendarvis Williams hit two free throws as the Spartans retook the lead five minutes into the game, 12-11.

Norfolk State (8-4) went on a 13-3 run to pull out to a 28-18 lead, starting with a three-pointer by Zieyik Estime and featuring two three-pointers and a layup by Hawkins. Three-pointers by Trent and Umipig pulled the Redhawks to within six, but the Spartans extended their lead back to 13 thanks to consecutive layups by Alexis and a three-pointer by Williams. Norfolk State went into the locker room at halftime on top, 41-30.

In the second half, after four made free throws by Hawkins increased the Spartan lead to 12, the Redhawks cut the lead in half thanks in part to four points from Sunderhaus. Back-to-back layups by Marese Phelps gave the Spartans another 12-point lead at 51-39, and the two teams would trade baskets for the next five minutes.

Seattle University (8-3) heads to Omaha, Neb., for a contest against the Nebraska Omaha Mavericks Sunday, Dec. 22, starting at 4 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Pacific time). Dave Grosby and Gary Hill Jr. will broadcast the game live on 770 AM KTTH The Truth, starting with the pregame show shortly before tipoff.

NSU will face Virginia for the second time in less than a year when the Spartans head up to Charlottesville for a 7 p.m. contest on Monday.

COURTESY SEATTLE UNIVERSITY ATLETICS MEDIA RELATIONS