Seattle U Men's Hoops | Redhawks rally for 85-84 win over Fresno State

It was a night when Seattle University was celebrating a big comeback — the return to full Division I status of its men's basketball team.

So fittingly, it ended with a smaller one on the floor, the Redhawks mounting a furious rally from a six-point deficit in the final 1:52 to beat Fresno State 85-84 in front of 4,713 at KeyArena.

"It's exciting just to be a part of this," said first-year head coach Cameron Dollar. An assistant the past seven years at Washington before taking over the Redhawks, he called the night "a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It's something that you can't even put into words."

Not that many would have been able at the end, as there mostly were hoarse voices by the time the frantic final seconds were finally gone.

Sophomore guard Cervante Burrell put Seattle U. ahead on a layin in traffic with 8.3 seconds remaining, then teamed with Garrett Lever to strip the ball from Fresno State's Steven Shepp on the other end to preserve the win. The game ended with Burrell dribbling the ball down the floor, then throwing it high into the air.

"This is just a starting point for us," said Burrell, who had 16 points as part of a balanced scoring attack as Seattle U. improved to 1-2. "We are just out to make statements, and this was a good beginning to make a statement."

The night began with a nod to the school's past as Seattle U. great Elgin Baylor was honored in a pregame ceremony in which the arena's playing surface was dedicated as the Elgin Baylor Court at KeyArena.

Baylor made a brief speech, saying of the Redhawks, "I just believe good things are going to happen. It's going to take a little patience, a little time, but I just believe they will be back to the standards we had when we played and they are going to be winners."

At halftime, the school honored a few of its other great players, including Clint Richardson, Eddie Miles, Rod Derline, John Tresvant and Johnny and Eddie O'Brien, who were all present.

The crowd was in a festive mood at that point as Seattle U. had grabbed an 11-point lead twice in the first half before settling for a 39-31 edge at halftime.

But Fresno State (2-1) used its superior size to rally in the second half as 6-foot-10 center Greg Smith and 6-8 forward Paul George each had a game-high 24 points, combining for 35 in the final 20 minutes.

Around the eight-minute mark, Dollar instructed his team to trap and press and try to force a more hurried tempo, which he thought would favor his team.

It did as intended, as Seattle U. scored 24 points in the last nine minutes. Still, Fresno State led 81-75 with 1:52 left. But a three-pointer by Mike Boxley that rolled around and finally in got Seattle U. within 81-79 with 1:21 left. After an FSU free throw, Burrell hit a layin to make it 82-81. Lever gave Seattle U. the lead with 36 seconds left, before Smith took it back with 24 seconds on the clock.

On its final possession, Seattle U. intended to get the ball to Charles Garcia, the one-time Washington signee who led the Redhawks with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Instead, guard Chris Gweth found Burrell.

"Busted play," Burrell said.

"Chris drove, saw me. Good pass. Smart play."

Then came the steal that sealed it, all emblematic of Dollar's overriding philosophy with this team.

"What I told them is, 'We are going to scrap 40 [minutes] to zero. That's what we are going to do,' " he said. " 'And we are going to let the chips fall where they may.' "

On this night, they all came up winners.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com

Box score

FRESNO ST.
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
George	33	8-13	6-6	4-10	0	5	24
Seay	29	6-13	1-4	1-4	3	3	15
Smith	33	10-13	4-5	3-10	1	4	24
Ladd	32	1-7	0-0	1-2	1	4	2
Sperling	26	0-2	4-6	0-2	1	4	4
Brown Jr	8	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	2	0
Shepp	28	3-5	6-7	0-1	8	1	13
Golubovic	8	1-3	0-0	0-2	0	1	2
GJohnson	3	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
	200	29-57	21-28	10-32	14	25	84

Percentages: FG .509, FT .750. Three-point goals: 5-14, .357 (George 2-4, Seay 2-6, Shepp 1-2, Golubovic 0-1, Ladd 0-1). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 2 (Shepp, Seay). Turnovers: 20 (Shepp 8, George 6, Sperling 3, Ladd 2, Seay). Steals: 6 (Shepp 2, Ladd, Sperling, Seay, George). Technical fouls: None.

SEATTLE
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Boxley	28	5-5	2-2	2-3	2	2	14
Broussard	27	6-11	1-4	1-4	1	2	16
Gilmore	11	0-1	0-0	0-1	1	1	0
Garcia	37	5-12	10-18	5-12	3	3	21
Burrell	31	6-10	3-4	1-4	4	2	16
Lever	21	1-2	0-0	1-2	0	4	2
Olson	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Gweth	29	5-14	1-2	1-2	3	3	12
Berry	10	1-5	0-0	0-2	1	2	2
Jones	5	1-2	0-0	1-2	0	4	2
	200	30-62	17-30	15-37	15	23	85

Percentages: FG .484, FT .567. Three-point goals: 8-16, .500 (Broussard 3-4, Boxley 2-2, Burrell 1-1, Garcia 1-2, Gweth 1-5, Berry 0-2). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 4 (Garcia 2, Boxley, Gilmore). Turnovers: 20 (Garcia 5, Boxley 5, Gweth 2, Gilmore 2, Jones 2, Broussard, Burrell, Lever). Steals: 7 (Broussard 3, Lever, Garcia, Gilmore, Burrell). Technical fouls: None.

Fresno St.	31	53	—	84
Seattle	39	46	—	85

Attendance: 4,713. Officials: Kevin Brill, Gregory Nixon, Jeff Kent.