By: Jenessa Gladstone
Box Score Billings, MT – The Simon Fraser University men's basketball team finished their road trip with a loss to the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets on Saturday night, 95-82.
"This was a disappointing road trip for our club. We had a chance to move up in the league and came up short," said Head Coach
James Blake "Individually Sango had a very good weekend and I'm proud of his toughness and leadership. We gave up 90 plus both nights this weekend and you are just not going to win many games defending like we did."
Leading the Clan once again,
Sango Niang (Paris, France) earned 27 points in the game while adding seven assists.
Four other SFU players hit double digits in points as Dillion Hamilton (Vancouver, BC) scored 14 and
Taylor Dunn (Vancouver, WA) added 12.
Justin Cole (Los Angeles, CA) and
David Gebru (Seattle, WA) also chipped in 11 each.
Jonathon Mesghna topped the Yellowjackets' scoreboard with 29 points and Kalob Hatcher earned 24.
The Clan struggled from three-point range, shooting 26.1 percent from outside of the arc.
While the teams lined up on the offensive boards, each grabbing eight, MSUB outrebounded SFU 24-15.
The first half of play stayed tight between the two teams, as neither could hold more than a single digit edge for an extended period of time.
A layup from Niang on the Clan's first possession put the team on the board, leading 2-0.
However, it would be another nine minutes until a three-pointer from Cole would put the visiting team back on the leading side as with 10:54 to go in the first half, SFU edged MSUB, 18-17.
On their next possession, the Yellowjackets answered back with a bucket of their own to regain the lead.
SFU stayed within two possessions until a 6-0 MSUB run gave the home team a 38-30 lead with 2:21 remaining until halftime.
As 1:05 sat on the clock, a long-distance three-pointer from Hamilton ignited a 7-0 Clan run to bring SFU ahead of MSUB, 38-37.
On their last possession of the half, a converted jumper from Niang gave the Clan a one point edge, 39-38, with four seconds left in the half.
However, a costly shooting foul with 0.01 second remaining sent Hatcher to the charity stripe to shoot three. Hatcher converted two, giving MSUB a 40-39 lead at the half.
The Clan struggled in the second half, as they were outscored 55-43 in the final twenty minutes of play.
A 10-0 MSUB run expanded the Yellowjackets lead to 56-42 with 16:08 to go in the game.
Quickly picking up the momentum, a 12-3 SFU run cut the deficit to just 59-54 as 13:20 remained.
MSUB relied on the three ball to best the Clan, shooting eight of nine from beyond the arc in the second half, propelling to home team to the 13-point victory.
The Clan's record now sits at 9-13 overall, 2-12 in the GNAC.
Returning for their final home stand, the team will next prepare to face the Central Washington Wildcats on Thursday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m. in the West Gym before hosting the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders for the teams Senior Night game on Saturdaym February 22 at 7:00 p.m.
"We will have to do a much better job defensively next weekend at home. It's gut check time for us and we are going to be ready for Central Washington and NNU," finished Blake.
