California State University at Northridge
2-5
Seattle U
2-3
CSUN Falls Short in 70-58 Loss at Seattle University
11/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SEATTLE -
Perimeter shooting and free throws down the stretch proved to be too much to overcome as the CSUN Matadors (2-5) were defeated by the Seattle University Redhawks (2-3) 70-58 on Saturday night in a non-conference game at KeyArena. Ajon Efferson led the Matadors with 11 points off the bench but 13 Seattle 3-pointers kept the hosts in front from start to finish.
"I thought that we played well, we played hard and with a little more focus," said CSUN head coach Reggie Theus. "With the way Seattle was shooting the ball and the way things were going we were able to cut it down to one and then we gave up two threes, and that's just where we have to get better."
Seattle found most of its offense from beyond the arc, as 13 of the team's 22 baskets were 3-pointers. The Redhawks built an eight-point lead, their largest of the first half, with 8:19 to go before the Matadors were able to chip away at the deficit.
A 7-0 run by the Matadors, fueled by Efferson and Landon Drew, helped CSUN trim the game to one point at 30-29. However, Jarell Flora made a layup and Isiah Umipig drained a three before the half to give Seattle a 35-29 advantage.
After a jumper by Deshaun Sunderhaus gave the Redhawks another eight-point lead with 13:11 remaining in regulation, the Matadors went on another 7-0 spurt to bring the game back to a one-point difference. Taelin Webb's floater with 7:49 to go made the score 50-49, but Flora followed with a pair of threes and the Matadors were unable to get closer than five points the rest of the way.
In addition to 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from long range, Efferson recorded three rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes. Drew finished with 10 points and had two rebounds and an assist.
Tre Hale-Edmerson asserted himself down low for the Matadors and chipped in 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks. He added game highs in assists (5) and steals (6) in 38 minutes.
Both Stephan Hicks and Devonte Elliott scored eight points for the Matadors. Umipig led all scorers with 24 points and seven 3-pointers while Flora was narrowly behind with 23 points.
As a team, the Matadors shot 23-for-60 (38.3%) from the field and 5-for-13 (38.5%) from 3-point range on the night.
"If you look in the archives, 21 points off the bench for us might be pretty high between this year and last year," added Theus. "That's a positive and we've got to find ways to keep utilizing them in that way."
The Matadors will return home for their next game when the team hosts South Dakota. Tipoff from The Matadome is scheduled for 7 p.m.
