By: Jenessa Gladstone
Box Score Fairbanks, AK – In a down to the wire battle, the Simon Fraser University men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks 63-61.
"We played 38 minutes of basketball tonight," said Head Coach
James Blake. "Unfortunately we did not execute and we made poor decisions. We are much better than our record shows. I hope our returning players learn from our mistakes. Fairbanks was dead last last year and are now in third place. We need to model our progression in this league after them."
Anto Olah (Gold Coast, AUS) led Simon Fraser with a double-double on the night, scoring 13 and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Ibrahim Appiah (Montreal, QC) also earned a double-double, adding 10 points and 10 rebounds.
UAF was led by Sergej Pucar who scored 16 points while Pat Vouet had 14. Dominique Brinson also hit double-digits adding 13.
The Clan shot 50 percent from the perimeter and was a perfect 100 percent from the free-throw line, and forced 21 Nanook turnovers.
Despite the cross-court effort, SFU was hurt by UAF's rebounding efforts as Fairbanks grabbed 38 boards to Simon Fraser's 30.
The Nanooks gained an early lead on the Clan, kicking off the game with a 4-0 run.
But within two minutes, SFU gained control off of a three-point shot from Matt Raivio (Vancouver, WA). With 16:13 left in the first half, SFU held their first lead of the game, 6-4.
Following two consecutive beyond-the-arc shots, UAF regained the lead bringing the score to 17-12 with 11:50 until the break.
Each team continued to trade baskets and the lead throughout the remainder of the half as neither could build a comfortable cushion.
On their last possession before halftime, Raivio knocked down a quick three-pointer to bring the Clan within one, 35-34.
With one second sitting on the clock, a foul committed by UAF's Hank Robinson brought Appiah to the line. Converting both free throws, SFU took a 36-35 lead into the locker rooms.
The Clan trailed early in the second half but managed to stay within one possession of the Nanooks.
With 12:10 to go, a three-point jumper from
Elijah Matthews (Washington, DC), tied up the score at 46. Seconds later, Simon Fraser gained a slight two-point edge over Fairbanks, leading 48-46.
The visiting team maintained momentum for the next 11 minutes, leading by as much as seven with 7:16 left to play.
A series of costly fouls in the final minute of the game cost the Clan and allowed the Nanooks to take the lead with 38 seconds to go.
Raivio attempted to tie the score on a final buzzer layup, but could not convert the shot resulting in SFU's late demise.
With the defeat, the team's record drops to 6-19 overall and 1-15 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
Simon Fraser will be back in action in Bellingham, WA when they face the Western Washington University Vikings on Saturday, March 2 to close out the season. The game will start at 1:00 p.m.
The game against the defending NCAA Division II National Champions and the current top ranked team in the NCAA will be televised in the United States on the CBS Sports Network.
