SEATTLE, WA – In what was arguably their best performance of the season so far, the Redhawks were able to dominate both sides of the court and pick up a season sweep over the Portland Pilots on Wednesday.
Coming off a hard to swallow loss at Cal, SU was faced with a difficult rematch with the University of Portland. Seattle was able to beat the Pilots in their season opener in November, but since that game, Portland went on to win 6 of their next 7 while Seattle went 4-5 after the opening win. To say these two teams were headed in different trajectories would be an understatement. With that being said, this was a new day.
RECAP:
Both teams came out trading blows as we saw several lead changes early. At the 9 minute mark the game was tied at 19 when Trey Hopkins checked into the ball game and hit a 3 to give the Redhawks the lead. A lead that Seattle would eventually balloon into a 9 advantage at the halftime break.
Portland did make a push to open the second half. Led by a strong effort from Ahmed Ali, the Pilots got the score down to a single possession several times but were never able to get over the hump and take a lead.
That’s mostly due to the fact that Riley Grigsby, Darrion Trammell and Jared Pearre had monster performances. All three of them put up double-doubles and were the driving force behind the Redhawks ability to close the game out. The trio were constantly turning defense into offense in the second half and scored several points on the fast break. Riley Grigsby had finishes in the open court that really sparked a big run. Trammell was also able to find Pearre on countless alley-oop dunks as the Redhawks pulled away and secured the win and season sweep of the Pilots.
PLAYER OF THE GAME:
This is tough when you have three players that had such outstanding games. Pearre had a coming out party with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Grigsby continued his stellar play with 22 points and 10 rebounds. For tonight though, we are going with Trammell. Not only did he lead the team in scoring with 25, but he also dished out 13 assists. A guard who can find his own shot and set up his teammates is deadly combination and it proved fatal for the Pilots on this night.
It was a highlight reel kinda night ? pic.twitter.com/QVcrJuXH9e
— Seattle U Men's Basketball (@seattleumbb) December 31, 2020
WHAT’S NEXT:
The Redhawks were able to squeeze one last non-conference game into their slate when the added St. Martins on Jan. 9th. That game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tip-off from the Redhawks Center.
As always, the game can be streamed on the WAC Digital Network with Brandon Brown on the call and on the airwaves of 770 KTTH with Doug Greenwald.
BOX SCORE: https://goseattleu.com/
Pro.elisportsnetwork.com
Russell is the Content Director for the Eli Network. He studied broadcast journalism at Eastern Oregon and North Dakota State University. Mostly covers soccer and basketball in the Seattle area and is the current play-by-play voice for Seattle Redhawks basketball. You can follow him @brussbrwn.
