Seattle U Basketball: Quick Statistical Summary And Awards

Seattle University Redhawks guard Cervante Burrell won the Elgin Baylor Classic MVP award for good reason - he scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and was undoubtedly the catalyst for Seattle U when the Idaho Vandals made their runs.

Men’s Basketball Pulls Out 66-56 Victory over Idaho - Seattle University Redhawks Athletics
After each team scored 10 points in the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the second half, Idaho went on a 12-3 run, as Shawn Henderson hit a three-pointer to give the Vandals their first lead of the game at 51-50 with 7:40 remaining in regulation. Burrell answered with a layup and, after a free throw by Kyle Barone, Burrell hit two free throws and another layup to allow the Redhawks to take the lead for good.

However, despite Burrell's strong second half performance, two other players deserve credit for helping the Redhawks build their 37-29 halftime lead.

Redhawks statistical MVP: Aaron Broussard

Broussard's aggression, particularly in the first half.

Right off the bat, Broussard hit a jumper early in the clock to establish a 2-0 lead to start the game. Later, he was visibly calling for the ball and throughout the game he showed more aggression in looking for his shot that he had in the past.

When he wasn't scoring he was making an impact on the boards. The 6-foot-5 junior had a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds to go with his 13 points and did the majority of that rebounding work on the defensive end, where he got 23.8% of the available defensive rebounds.

Key player: Alex Jones

While Broussard was going to work on the defensive boards throughout he game, Jones was doing work on the offensive boards finishing with a game-high 3 offensive rebounds in the second half. Jones' activity inside might not be quite as noticeable for a team that appears to be so guard oriented, but Jones found himself in scoring position early to score four of the Redhawks' first eight points of the game to give them an early 8-2 lead.

While Jones was active around the boards, he showed much more aggression as well establishing position in the post and making strong moves to the basket. But ultimately, the Redhawks' rebounding was the difference in this game.

Key statistic: offensive rebounding

The Redhawks finished with a 10 to 4 advantage in second chance points and a lot of that was due to the considerable offensive rebounding advantage (9 to 4) that they established in the first half. On every missed shot, it seemed that every player was flying to the rim to get the rebound and if they didn't grab it, just creating chaos around the basket led to tip opportunities and loose balls. It wasn't always pretty, but it was the scrappy type of basketball that coach Dollar likes to see.

Idaho statistical MVP: Kyle Barone

Had the Vandals pulled out the win, Renton native Shawn Jefferson would have almost certainly won MVP - he had a team-high 17 points and his athleticism even on missed alley oop attempts made him stand out.

However, the most crucial player to the team in the second half was Barone, who matched the energy that the Redhawks put forth on the boards and really just seemed to be at the right place at the right time, whether that be finding himself in the passing lane for a timely steal, getting open on the baseline for a one step dunk, flying to the rim for a tip-in attempt or establishing position inside for a post move.

Offensively, that energy translated into a high free throw rate (he shot 4-for-6 in the second half) that gave the Vandals a few easy points down the stretch.

Seattle U Basketball: Redhawks Hold Off Vandals To Win Elgin Baylor Classic 66-56

Somehow the Seattle University Redhawks just figure things out at KeyArena.

In a rather evenly matched contest, Seattle U held of a valiant second half effort by the Idaho Vandals to win 66-56 in a score that was padded by free throws down the stretch.

Seattle University's Cervante Burrell was named MVP of the one-game Elgin Baylor Classic after scoring 14 of his 20 points in the second half on 7-for-14 shooting.Forward Aaron Broussard finished with a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, with most of his production coming in the first half.

Burrell was instrumental in keeping the Redhawks ahead with repeated drives to the basket in addition to being generally aggressive in transition with pull-up jumpers. The shooting efficiency of Broussard and Burrell in the second half helped the team shoot over 45.5 percent, which is certainly a rarity this season, even at home.

What allowed the Vandals to come so close to stealing one on the road was their ability to solve the Redhawks' mix of zone defenses in the second half by driving the gaps as well as finding space along the baseline. The player who probably stood out most in that effort was the Vandals 6-foot-10 center Kyle Barone who just seemed to wherever the ball was in the second half - finding gaps along the baseline in the zone and flying toward the rim for put back attempts.

Barone scored all 10 of his points in the second half and finished with four rebounds as well in addition to finding his way to the free throw line six times. Renton native Shawn Henderson led Idaho with a career-high 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting.

Seattle U Basketball: Former Teammates Of Elgin Baylor, Redhawks Stars Honored In Pre-Game And Halftime Ceremonies

Today's game is the seventh straight Elgin Baylor Classic for the Seattle University Redhawks and although Baylor isn't present, a few of his former teammates were.

A few minutes before the game, they recognized former Baylor teammates including Seattle U basketball Hall of Famer Jim Harney.

At halftime, they honored Ed & John O'Brien, who led the basketball team to 1953 NCAA Tournament before playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom their new facility on Cherry will be named after.

For more on what exactly this Elgin Baylor thing is all about.

Seattle U to Host Idaho in 2010 Elgin Baylor Classic - Seattle University Redhawks Athletics
ELGIN BAYLOR CLASSIC: Today's game has been designated the Elgin Baylor Classic, honoring the Hall of Fame basketball player who led the 1957-58 Seattle University squad to the national championship game. This is the seventh straight year that at least one game on the Redhawk schedule has been named the Elgin Baylor Classic. The tradition started at the beginning of the 2004-05 season. During Seattle U's Division II days, the Elgin Baylor Classic was a two-day tournament held at the start of each season.

Seattle U Halftime Report: Redhawks Dominate Offensive Boards To Take 37-29 Lead

In almost every game the Redhawks play, they are undersized - if not height-wise, in terms of bulk.

Nevertheless, they've generally managed to do well on the boards despite what one might presume is a disadvantage.

In the first half of the Elgin Baylor Classic against the University of Idaho this evening, they've controlled the boards with a 19 to 9 advantage overall on their way to a 37-29 halftime lead.

The more important advantage has been on the offensive boards where the Redhawks have established a 9 to 4 advantage, which has led to a 8 to 2 advantage in second chance points.

Rebounding aside, something that can't be overlooked in the context of their season is the Redhawks' outstanding 53.3 percent shooting in the first half, including shooting 3-for-7 from the 3-point line. That's a remarkable change for a team that has typically been in the 30 percent range, if not under that, this season. Perhaps a bit more surprising is the fact that they've done that with only two first half assists on 16 made field goals - they're getting to the basket, hitting pull-up jumpers, and driving to the basket one-on-one.

Forward Aaron Broussard leads the way at halftime with nine points on 4-for-6 shooting and a game-high four rebounds, looking more aggressive than usual in asserting himself offensively. Sterling Carter is follows him with seven points and has found his way to the basket for driving layups rather than solely living from beyond the arc.

For Idaho, Renton native Shawn Henderson is leading the way with 12 points.

2010 Elgin Baylor Classic: Seattle Redhawks Host Idaho Vandals At KeyArena

After a tough 65-61 loss to Weber State last week, it's probably safe to say the Seattle University Redhawks are looking forward to their home game this evening at 5 p.m. PST.

Despite struggling on the road this season, the Redhawks have won two in a row in the cozy confines of KeyArena and their scrappy intensity has made them exciting to watch almost independent of the strength of their competition.

Today's game figures to be another winnable one for them.

The visiting Idaho Vandals who are 5-3 but are close to the Redhawks in the RPI rankings (Vandals are #249 vs. Redhawks 261) and have a significantly weaker strength of schedule. Regardless of whether there's any additional significance to playing a WAC opponent given ongoing expansion talks, continuing the home winning streak would definitely be significant for the team as they continue to make progress.

Key statistical battleground: turnovers

At their best, the Redhawks' snappiness translates into turnovers, sloppy play, and ultimately exactly the type of game they want. The Vandals tend to turn the ball over more than their opponents overall and that would seem to be among the easiest thing the Redhawks can exploit, even if they have another off shooting night.

Key players:

Luiz Toledo, F (6-foot-8, 225, Jr.)

One of Idaho's strengths this season has been offensive rebounding and Toledo has been their leader with 2.5 per game in addition to getting to the free throw line at a rather strong rate.

Shawn Henderson, G (6-foot-3, 178, Sr.)

However their leading rebounder is actually Henderson, who averages a team-high 7.3 per game in addition to being the team's most efficient ball handler. Seattle U has done well rebounding in their last few home games, but not necessarily against a team with a guard that gets as many rebounds as Henderson.

Although turnovers could certainly be a deciding factor for Seattle U in this game, Idaho's rebounding could help them get the road win.