By: Jenessa Gladstone
Box Score
Burnaby, BC – Claiming their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference win of the season, the Simon Fraser University men's basketball team won a hard fought battle over the third place University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks, 68-54 in the West Gym on Thursday night.
“All week coach was emphasizing our energy," said Ibrahim Appiah (Montreal, QC). "He said we need to come off the bench and bring the energy. That's been my mentality the whole week, to come out with energy, lead the team, and let them feed off me.”
Appiah led SFU with 16 points in the victory while also contributing seven rebounds.
Elijah Matthews (Washington, DC) followed with 14 while Taylor Dunn (Vancouver, WA) chipped in 11.
Freshman Keegan Dunlop (St. Catharines, ON) got the start and had his best game of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing four rebounds.
“It was a great boost of confidence being a freshman and getting my first start," said Dunlop. "It shows the trust the coaches have in me. The veterans are always talking to me, sharing things they learned at my age to help me mature as a player and I think that's really helping my game."
Nanook forward Andrew Kelly carried UAF with 12 points. Forward Sergej Pucar also hit double digits, adding 10.
The Clan's work ethic paid off in the win, as SFU outscored Fairbanks 19-2 on second chance points and the Clan bench outscored the Nanooks' 43-15.
SFU initially struggled to get on the board, allowing a 9-0 Nanook run to start the game.
The Clan remained scoreless until 17:24 when two converted free-throws from Anto Olah (Gold Coast, AUS) put SFU on the board.
Olah also led the Clan with 11 rebounds.
Trailing UAF for most of the first half, the Clan fought hard cutting the lead to one on multiple occasions.
With 2:09 on the clock, Matt Raivio (Vancouver, WA) ended an 11-2 SFU run with a shot from beyond-the-arc to give the Clan their first lead of the game, 32-30.
SFU went into the locker rooms with a slight 34-32 lead. They would not trail again in the game.
The Clan did not let up in the second half, leading by as much as 18 in the final 20 minutes of play before settling for the 14-point victory.
The win improvess SFU's record to 6-10 overall and their GNAC record to 1-7.
The Clan will look to continue their winning ways at home on Saturday as SFU will return to the West Gym to face the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves at 7:00 p.m.
