From the Amazon #1 Best Selling Author (ModernMillions.ai), R. Kenner French

Seattle University won its men’s basketball home opener 79–60 over Portland State on Saturday, November 7, at Redhawk Center. Will Heimbrodt and Mason Williams scored 18 points apiece. The result looks comfortable. The route there was not.

The teams were tied 28–28 at halftime, and Seattle U trailed 44–41 before taking control. Then the Redhawks stopped missing: they made their final 12 field-goal attempts and scored 51 points in the second half. That is the headline performance. The more useful question is what helped produce it.

The turn started with defense

Andy Jobanek’s November 7 postgame recap for Portland State Athletics identifies a key part of the change: three Vikings turnovers produced five of Seattle U’s first nine points during the decisive 12–0 run. This was not simply a team waiting for jump shots to fall.

Seattle University Athletics’ official recap supplies the sequence. Tyler Boston made two free throws. Ray Adams followed with a steal and a coast-to-coast dunk that put the Redhawks ahead 45–44. Heimbrodt added two free throws and a three-point play, then assisted Jaden Bailes on a three that made it 53–44.

A broader 20–2 stretch pushed the advantage to 61–46. Seattle U had turned a tight game into one Portland State could no longer keep close.

Perfect late, not perfect all night

The official box score makes the contrast clear. Seattle U shot 11-for-33 in the first half and 16-for-19 in the second. The Redhawks finished 27-for-52 overall, or 51.9 percent.

That second-half accuracy deserves attention. It does not establish a shooting level anyone should expect every night. The repeatable question is whether Seattle U can keep creating opportunities through defensive pressure and finishing around the basket when the extraordinary shooting stretch is gone.

The Redhawks scored 42 points in the paint to Portland State’s 28 and held a 13–0 edge in fast-break points. They made only four three-pointers. As our box-score reading guide emphasizes, the final scoring total needs a closer look at how those points arrived. Here, that look points well beyond the three-point line.

The scoring had support

Heimbrodt’s 18 points came on 7-for-10 shooting. Williams matched him while making all six of his free throws. Halvine Dzellat added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Boston finished with 10 points.

Dzellat’s rebounding mattered in a game Seattle U won 39–30 on the boards. Portland State finished at 35.1 percent from the floor, making 20 of 57 attempts. The Redhawks had more than one way to gain an advantage, which is a stronger takeaway than treating the hot finish as the entire story.

A useful win, with work remaining

Seattle U finished the game with 12 turnovers and made 21 of 30 free throws. Those numbers leave room for improvement even on a night that ended with a 19-point margin.

The win brought the Redhawks to 1–1. It is too early to turn one home result into a season forecast. But this game offers something concrete: Seattle U changed the contest with defensive plays, converted the opportunities that followed, and had several players contribute to the finish. That is worth tracking after the shooting percentage comes back to earth.

Cover photograph is illustrative basketball photography, not an image of the named player or the reported game.