Seattle U Basketball: Redhawks Struggle To Recover From Second Half USF Runs

In the first half, the points off turnovers were a problem for the Redhawks and in the second half the combination of their turnovers and USF's ball control led to insurmountable runs that saw the lead balloon to as much as 31 points.

From the Seattle U release:

Seattle U Men's Basketball Loses at USF - Seattle University Redhawks Athletics
San Francisco (1-0) took the early lead thanks to an 11-1 run early in the first half, and the Dons extended their advantage to as much as 17 points late in the half before Sterling Carter (Seattle, Wash.) hit a fade-away three-pointer with time running out in the period to make the halftime score 46-32 in San Francisco's favor.

The Redhawks cut the lead to 11 early in the second half on a basket by Mark McLaughlin (Seattle, Wash.), but the Dons responded with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to extend their lead out to 19 points at 60-41. A 15-1 scoring run by San Francisco later in the half gave the home team its biggest lead of the night at 82-51 with about seven minutes remaining in regulation.

Seattle U kept fighting, especially Garrett Lever (Phoenix, Ariz.), who made life tough for the San Francisco offense with a game-high three steals, plus contributed 11 points, and Carter, who hit four three-point shots in the final four minutes on his way to a 26-point performance. McLaughlin also reached double figures with 10 points, but Seattle U struggled offensively, shooting just 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the field and 50 percent (14-of-28) from the free throw line.

Seattle U Basketball: Redhawks Suffer An Unfortunate Blowout Loss To A WCC Opponent

It’s hard to ignore that there was a little extra emotional significance attached to Seattle University’s meeting with San Francisco tonight, not only because of all the history but also because of the ongoing search for a conference.

There are Seattle fans out there who believe the WCC is a better fit than the WAC and so there had to be some feeling of wanting to see the Redhawks do well against a WCC opponent.

To be totally clear, it’s not as if this game was necessarily going to influence that decision: it appears that the WCC is at the very least in no rush to expand and at worst not too eager to bring Seattle University aboard. So it’s not like a win would have the WCC knocking down Seattle’s door.

But a 97-76 loss certainly doesn’t help convince those in the WCC who might have reservations about bringing Seattle U in as a 10th program, even with Denver – apparently the WCC’s preferred choice – already having accepted an invite to the WAC.

All that said, this has been a tough way to start the season – jumping right in to a road game against an ACC opponent and then coming back west to face a team that is further along in their rebuilding process on the road. The circumstances have not been favorable, but the outcomes haven’t necessarily been encouraging from afar either.

Seattle U Men's Basketball: Redhawks Down 46-32 At Halftime In San Francisco

Things got off to a rough start for Seattle University against their first WCC opponent of the season.

In addition to allowing USF to shoot 50 percent from the field, turnovers have plagued Seattle U in the first half, with Seattle committing 11 to San Francisco’s 6.

Franklin High alum Carter Sterling is carrying the Redhawks with 11 points at halftime while Gavin Gilmore has six rebounds thus far. USF’s Michael Williams is leading USF with 11 points at halftime.

Seattle U Basketball: Redhawks Face San Francisco In Their Return West

Although Seattle University is in the early stages of transitioning back into Division I basketball, they actually have some history with the University of San Francisco who they play tonight at 8 p.m. in San Francisco.

Tonight's meeting as part of the nationwide Jesuit Basketball Spotlight will be the 26th all-time between the two teams. Perhaps their most famous meeting was took place on March 14, 1958, in the West Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Led by future Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor, Seattle U earned a 69-67 victory on its way to the NCAA title game. After Seattle U swept two games from USF in the 1958-59 campaign, the two teams did not play again until Seattle U joined the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1971-72. USF dominated the conference meetings, winning 15 of the 18 contests over the nine-year span Seattle U was in the WCAC.

Both programs are familiar with success and both tout alums who went on to have successful NBA careers that helped them secure spots in the Hall of Fame, with USF proudly boasting current Washington resident Bill Russell as an alum. Both share similar values as Jesuit institutions, which only reinforces the belief that the WCC would be a great fit for Seattle University if they were invited. And now both teams are trying to re-establish themselves on the national scene with coaches who made names for themselves in the NCAA tournament.

USF is a little bit ahead of Seattle of course with coach Rex Walters having taken over in 2008 and immediately getting the program back on a path to success after only appearing in the post-season twice in the past 25 years. Walters has yet to produce a winning season in his two years, but finished fourth in the WCC last season and now has a team of his own recruits at his disposal.

Coming off a tough loss in their first-ever game against the University of Maryland, this figures to be a good barometer for where the Redhawks are at this point in the season as well as an opportunity to bounce back from a blowout loss with a win on the road. Junior forward Angelo Caloiaro is the USF's leading returning scorer after averaging 8.9 points per game. Last Sunday, the Dons defeated Menlo College in an exhibition game, 95-62, with Caloiaro leading the way with 17 points. Cody Doolin scored 15 points, and Rashad Green contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.

The game is the latest in a rather busy early-season stretch for the Redhawks. The team flew back to Seattle Tuesday morning after playing at Maryland Monday night, practice Wednesday, and then flew to San Francisco Thursday afternoon. The Redhawks face the University of San Francisco tonight, fly back to Seattle Saturday, and head right into their next game, the home opener against Cal Poly Sunday. The team will have two days of practice to prepare for Oregon State Wednesday, Nov. 17, and then they leave for Irvine, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 18, for the subregional round of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, with three games in three days.

The goal of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight is to use Jesuit basketball to raise awareness of Jesuit education. Both Seattle University and the University of San Francisco are Jesuit schools. The Jesuit Basketball Spotlight project highlights more than 90 games this season between men's and women's teams from the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States. Each of the 28 is dedicated to strong academics and teaching women and men to serve others and live a faith that does justice.