Kyle Boswell provided the spark in the first half to help UCSB defeat Seattle.
SEATTLE ? Kyle Boswell sparked a 19-2 run in the first half and Alan Williams took the game over in the second half as UCSB defeated Seattle University 86-70 on Monday night in the Pacific Northwest.
Boswell, who finished with 19 points for the game, scored 13 in the first half and was instrumental in transforming a narrow 9-8 advantage with just over 13 minutes to play into a 28-10 lead with 5:58 left. He made all three of his three-point attempts during the run. He finished the game 7-of-9 overall and 5-of-6 from three-point territory. He also had four assists and no turnovers.
Besides containing Boswell, Seattle had two other problems in the first half. The Redhawks made just 5-of-25 shots overall and 2-for-16 from outside the three-point arc. They also committed nine turnovers as compared to four for the Gauchos.
“Bos really got us going in the first half,” said head coach Bob Williams. “He’s been so good and so on with his shot lately. When he shoots and plays with that kind of confidence, he is huge for us.”
Seattle never really threatened to get back into the game in the second half as the lead never dropped under 14 and Alan Williams had a lot to do with that. He finished with a game-high 27 points, 19 in the second half when he made 6-of-7 field goals and all seven of his free throws. Williams also added eight rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocked shots. He did much of his damage while being double and triple-teamed.
“Big Al is a warrior,” Coach Williams said. “He was getting double and triple-teamed all night and just kept battling and we fed off of that as a team.”
The Redhawks’ only lead of the game came at 3-0, but they never gave in. In fact, Seattle turned to the intentional fouls midway through the second half, but the Gauchos made 30-of-33 free throws in the final 20 minutes to seal the win.
Santa Barbara shot a solid 46.9% for the game for the game, and they also did plenty of damage from the free throw line, going 34-of-39 overall, 87.2%. Seattle finished at 33.3% overall and 35.1% from outside the arc. The Redhawks made several of their threes in the waning seconds with the outcome decided.
Zalmico Harmon made 11-of-12 free throws to finish with 13 points. He also had five assists. Eric Childress was 10-of-12 from the line and finished with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Isiah Umipig, a transfer from Cal State Fullerton, led Seattle with 24 points. Emerson Murray added 20.
The Redhawks outrebounded the Gauchos 38-34, but Coach Williams didn’t see that as a factor.
“I thought we did a good job of rebounding when the game had yet to be decided,” he said. “I thought we really went hard to the boards most of the night.”
With the win, UCSB improved to 8-4 and has now won two straight and five of its last six. The Redhawks fall to 8-5 and it was their first loss to a Big West opponent this season.
The Gauchos will play their first home game in nearly a month when they return to host The Master’s College on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. The game will tip-off at 4 p.m.
