By: Jenessa Gladstone
Box Score
Seattle, WA - Facing the top team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, the Simon Fraser University men's basketball team fell in a close game against the Seattle Pacific University Falcons, 89-79, on Thursday night.
The Falcons are ranked 15th in NCAA Division II basketball.
"We came up against a very disciplined team tonight and needed to a better job on the boards," said Head Coach James Blake. "David, Sango, and Justin had good individual efforts but we need more ball movement to get more players involved in the offence."
Sango Niang (Paris, France) spearheaded SFU's effort, earning a career-high 26 points. Senior forward David Gebru (Seattle, WA) also hit double-digits with 16 points off the bench while Justin Cole (Los Angeles, CA) scored 12.
David Downs led all players in the game, earning 27 points for SPU. Matt Borton followed Downs with 14 points and led the night in rebounds, grabbing 10.
Despite the loss, the Clan shot 54.5 percent from field goal range as the Falcons shot 58.2 percent.
Rebounding proved to be the Clan's Achilles heal, as the team was outrebounded 23 to SPU's 31.
The Clan contended with the Falcons in the first half, staying within single digits of SPU early on.
Five minutes into the game, the home team used a 7-0 run to gain a 15-8 lead.
Quickly answering with a 9-4 run of their own, SFU tied the score at 19 with 11:52 remaining in the first half.
However, the Falcons ignited a 12-1 run to pull away from the Clan, earning a 46-28 edge with 38 seconds left.
On the visitor's final possession of the half, Niang hit a last second jumper to bring the score to 46-30 at the break.
Despite trailing by as much as 25, SFU continued to fight and chip away at SPU's lead.
A huge 18-6 run brought the Clan within nine of the Falcons with 47 seconds to go in the game.
But, the late comeback was not enough to overcome the home team's edge.
The defeat drops the Clan's record to 2-11 in the GNAC and 9-12 overall.
The team will move on to Billings, MT where they will take on the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets on Saturday, February 15 at 7:30 p.m.
"We have been playing very good basketball as of late and now we are just focusing on Billings," finished Blake.
