By: Jenessa Gladstone
Box Score
Burnaby, BC – Returning to home court for the first time in 2014, the Simon Fraser University men's basketball team were defeated by the Montana Sate University Billings Yellowjackets, 100-68 in the West Gym on Thursday night.
"It was a tough night to come off because we had a great week of practice. The effort in the first half just wasn't great. It wasn't the output we expected," said senior guard Ibrahim Appiah (Montreal, QC). "The other team just came out to play and we didn't."
Appiah earned a double-double in the game, earning 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Two other Clan players hit double-digits in scoring as Sango Niang (Paris, France) led the team with 19 points, Taylor Dunn (Vancouver, WA) earned 17, and David Gebru (Seattle, WA) added 11.
Forward Austin Hudson led all players on the night, scoring 25 points for Montana State Billings. He also led his team in rebounds, grabbing 12.
SFU struggled on both ends of the court as they shot just 40 percent from field goal range, while being outrebounded 47-32 by Montana. Meanwhile, the visitors shot 53 percent in the game and 52 percent from beyond the arc.
The Clan got off to a slow start as the Yellowjackets' defence held the home team to 14 points in the first 10 minutes of play.
Fighting against MSUB, SFU slowly battled throughout the first half to chip away at the deficit.
However, increasing pressure from the Yellowjackets' defence paralyzed the Clan, bringing the score to 56-30 by the break.
Trouble continued for SFU throughout the second half as the team could not mount a serious comeback against a strong Yellowjackets squad.
With the loss, the home team's record falls to 0-6 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and 7-7 overall.
The Clan will look to get back on the winning side when the face conference leading Seattle Pacific University in the West Gym at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 18.
