Box Score Burnaby, BC – Kicking off their final homestand with a bang, the Simon Fraser University men's basketball team defeated the Central Washington University Wildcats 112-99 on Thursday night in an exciting contest in the West Gym.

"We just stuck to a scout and game plan, and went to business like we always do," said Head Coach James Blake. "We want to continue to move up in the GNAC, so that was our goal for this year. We wanted to show that we belong in this conference, and the team really did that tonight."

Earning a season and career high 36 points, Sango Niang (Paris, France) led the Clan in their victory, earning a double-double in the game as he also recorded 11 assists while grabbing eight rebounds.

David Gebru (Seattle, WA) followed Niang, scoring 18 in the game. Three more players hit double-digits as Justin Cole (Los Angeles, CA) added 16 points, while Taylor Dunn (Vancouver, WA) and Ibrahim Appiah (Montreal, QC) chipped in 14 a piece.

Wildcats leading scorer Mark McLaughlin led CWU with 34 points.

The Clan got off to a slow start, allowing the Wildcats to take a 14-0 run with 14:17 remaining in the half to bring the score to 14-5.

However, SFU answered with a 14-4 run of their own, earning a 19-18 edge just over nine minutes in.

The teams continued to trade the lead until a three pointer from Niang kicked off a 7-0 Clan run. With 8:40 sitting on the clock until the break, the home team led 33-27.

Maintaining control the remainder of the first half, SFU used a 14-8 run to expand the deficit to 19 at 58-39 by the break.

The Clan's successes continued throughout the second half as the team never gave up the lead.

With 2:59 to go, the Wildcats used a 7-2 run to chip away at the Clan's edge and bring the score to 97-91.

However, SFU held off CWU's late comeback to earn the 13-point victory.

The win bumps the Clan's record to 3-12 in the GNAC and 10-13 overall.

Returning to the West Gym for the final time in 2013-14, SFU will take on the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 22. The team's seniors will be honored prior to the game as Gebru, Dunn, and Dillon Hamilton (Vancouver, BC) as well as Appiah and Chris Evans (Port Moody, BC), who have been with the program since its inaugural season in the NCAA, will play their final home game for SFU.

"Our focus is going to be defence. Over the last trip the problem was defence, but now it's coming together with the chemistry so we'll be looking to get that next win," said Niang.

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