Seattle U Redhawks' players and coaches probably won't admit this, but no matter what happens in the second half of this game an eight point halftime deficit is a moral victory for the Redhawks.
Put simply, next to the Redhawks effort the indisputably more talented Washington Huskies look sluggish and unfocused.
To be more specific, Seattle U is doing something that they absolutely had to in order to stay in this game: winning the turnover battle. With only five first half turnovers to the Huskies' nine, their ability to protect the ball for most of the half - they had three dead ball turnovers in a row - has been the most significant reason they're still in this game.
However, while Cervante Burrell and Sterling Carter share a team-high 10 points for the Redhawks, it has been Burrell's aggression driving to the basket that has been most impressive - as is the case against many opponents, his speed enables him to blow by opponents and get to the rim with surprising ease and his pull-up jumper literally caused Isaiah Thomas to fall over at one point.
For the Huskies, Matthew Bryan-Amaning jumps off the halftime scoring sheet with 12 points and eight rebounds and there isn't much stopping him from having a career game against the Redhawks who simply can't contend with his size and athleticism around the basket. His 4-for-6 shooting and strong post presence has helped the Huskies establish a 46.7 percent to 32.3 percent shooting advantage that has given them the lead.