Seattle downs UT Rio Grande Valley 77-60 to advance in WAC

Mar 9, 2018, 07:06 am

LAS VEGAS -- Richaud Gittens led five Seattle players in double figures with 17 points and the fourth-seeded Redhawks beat No. 5 seed UT Rio Grande Valley 77-60 Thursday night in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

Seattle (20-12) will play top-seeded New Mexico in a semifinal game on Friday.

The Redhawks built a 21-10 before UT Rio Grande Valley used a 10-5 spurt close within six on pair of Nick Dixon free throws with 5:47 before halftime. Seattle countered with a 13-2 run and led 39-25 at the break.

UT Rio Grande Valley got back in it with 16-2 run with Dixon scoring nine points and Lew Stallworth's free throw reduced Seattle's lead to 53-49 with 8:23 remaining. The Redhawks took control again with a 10-2 run in less than three minutes and were up by double figures the rest of the way.

Seattle got 16 points from Joe Hearlihy, 12 each from Aaron Menzies -- with 10 rebounds -- and Matej Kavas and Jordan Hill scored 11.

Dixon led the Vaqueros (15-17) with 24 points.