Saturday night at the UCCU Center, the lone two unbeaten teams in the WAC took the floor. And the Redhawks and Wolverines gave fans a show.
When Riley Grigsby’s 3-pointer banked in with 30 seconds to play, a roar exploded from the Seattle U bench.
The Quad 1 road win was within reach.
Grigsby and Cam Tyson knocked down four straight free throws as Seattle U earned an 85-80 win over Utah Valley Saturday night at the UCCU Center.
With the win, the Redhawks are the lone unbeaten team in WAC play.
Grigsby finished with a team-high 20 points and Cam Tyson finished with 19 as the Redhawks got their biggest win of the 2022-23 season.
From the onset, it was a street fight inside the UCCU Center.
Utah Valley (14-5 overall, 5-1 WAC) jumped out to a quick 12-6 lead and looked good playing their first home game in two weeks.
Justin Harmons driving layup pushed the lead to seven. But, Seattle U (14-4 overall, 5-0 WAC) responded.
Kobe Williamson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers off the bench. And just like that, it was a one-point game.
After a Riley Grigsby 3-pointer to tie the game at 20, Alex Schumacher gave the Redhawks a 22-20 lead with a jumper in the lane.
And with 9:14 left in the first half, Brandton Chatfield completed a 3-point play to push the Seattle U lead to eight.
But, in a street fight, the opponent doesn’t go away. And Utah Valley didn’t go away
The Wolverines used an 8-0 run late in the first half to take a 44-40 lead.
Matthew Levis capped off the first half with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to two at the break.
In the second half, it was blow for blow.
The Redhawks would knock down a shot. And Utah Valley would respond.
Le’Tre Darthard’s 3-pointer with 7:06 to play gave Utah Valley a 67-62 lead with 7:06 to play.
But, despite foul trouble, Brandton Chatfield knocked down the first of two second-half 3-pointers.
All of a sudden, Seattle U had some life.
After Chatfield’s second 3-pointer cut the deficit to one, Utah Valley responded.
Tim Fuller got an easy layup and Aziz Bandaogo threw down an alley-oop to give the Wolverines a 73-68 lead with 3:57 to play.
But, the Redhawks refused to go away.
It also helps that Cam Tyson got fouled on a 3-pointer out of the under four media timeout.
In fact, Tyson got fouled three separate times on a 3-point attempt.
Tyson calmly stepped to the free throw line, sank all three and the deficit was two with 3:51 to play.
After the Redhawks got a stop on the defensive end, Alex Schumacher tied the game at 73 with a layup.
Back and forth it went.
But, down the stretch, it was the Seattle U veterans that won the battle.
Cam Tyson’s 3-pointer gave the Redhawks a 76-75 lead. And after Aziz Bandaogo’s dunk tied it at 78, Riley Grigsby hit the shot of the night.
Coming off an elevator screen at the top of key, with a hand in his face, Grigsby said the bank is open.
Grigsby’s 3-pointer gave the Redhawks an 81-78 lead with 30 seconds to play.
It was, indeed, the knockout punch of this Saturday night street fight.
Bank is open for Grigsby? to put us up by three with 30 seconds left pic.twitter.com/E1eTo6QjiH
— Seattle U Men's Basketball (@seattleumbb) January 15, 2023
Along with Grigsby and Tyson, Alex Schumacher and Brandton Chatfield were also in double figures. Schumacher finished with 12 points and Chatfield had 11 points.
Aziz Bandaogo finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Utah Valley. Tim Fuller had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Le’Tre Darthard and Trey Woodbury each had 13 points and Justin Harmon finished with 11 points.
The Wolverines were just 11-20 at the free throw line while Seattle U finished 19-21 at the stripe.
Seattle U hosts Tarleton on Wednesday at the Redhawk Center.
Utah Valley plays host to Abilene Christian on Wednesday at the UCCU Center.
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