For the third straight year, the Comcast Battle in Seattle has set the attendance record for a college basketball game in the State of Washington. A sold out crowd of 16,763 saw the Connecticut Huskies defeat the Gonzaga Bulldogs 88-83 in an overtime thriller. The attendance topped the mark set a year ago when 15,141 fans saw the Tennessee Volunteers win in their first ever trip to the Emerald City.
Despite the freezing temperatures and snowstorm in Seattle, KeyArena was packed with raucous fans that were lucky enough to witness two Top 10 teams square off in what experts are calling the game of the year.
Down 11 points with 12 minutes remaining, the Huskies were led by senior point guard AJ Price who dished out 10 assists and scored 24 points, including the contested 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime.
“This game assured me of our toughness,” Price said. “Being able to battle adversity, down 11 in the second half on the road, and come back? We are tough.”
Hall of Fame Coach Jim Calhoun was extremely proud of his team and noticed the record crowd.
“Just a phenomenal basketball game to be associated with,” said Calhoun. “Quite frankly, when you get in game like that, it comes down to heart.”
With attendance over 15,000 in each of the last three Comcast Battle in Seattle games, Northwest Sports & Entertainment has promoted games with the top three attendance figures in regular season college basketball games in Washington. The 2006 Comcast Battle in Seattle broke the previous record of 14,252 which had stood for nearly 50 years. That was a game held at the Seattle Center Coliseum on Feb. 12, 1967 featuring Seattle University and Texas Western, the year after the Miners won the NCAA title.