By: Jenessa Gladstone
Box Score
Burnaby, BC – For the second time in three games the Simon Fraser University men's basketball team lost a one point game to a top ranked Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent as the second placed Western Washington University Vikings edged the Clan 84-83.
It was a back and forth game throughout, with 17 lead changes throughout and the score was tied 13 times.
"The biggest issue was composure down the stretch. We can play just as good or better of a game as them so we would've liked to have gotten the win," said Taylor Dunn (Vancouver, WA). "Our team was making plays at the end, but we just didn't stay composed."
Dunn earned 16 points and four assists in the 'Border Battle' that lived up to its billing.
Guards Sango Niang (Paris, France) and Justin Cole (Los Angeles, CA) earned the top scoring positions, adding 20 and 19 points respectively. Ibrahim Appiah (Montreal, QC) also hit double digits with 14 points while David Gebru (Seattle, WA) chipped in 13.
Appiah had another big game on the boards, leading all players with nine rebounds.
The Vikings were led by Richard Woodworth, who scored 33 points in his 40 minutes of play.
The first twenty minutes were tight as neither team could build a comfortable cushion.
With 12:20 sitting on the clock until the break, Dunn knocked down a three-pointer to tie the score at 16.
SFU followed with a 10-3 run, earning a 26-19 lead with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
Although WWU would go on to tie the score three more times through the remainder of the half, the visitors were not able to gain the edge.
Looking to take a one-point lead into halftime, the Vikings sunk a last second bucket as the shot clock expired but it was deemed no good and the Clan took a 43-41 lead into the locker rooms, the second time in as many meetings this year that the Clan have held the halftime lead.
SFU found trouble early in the second half as WWU came out of the break with an 8-0 run, bringing the score to 49-43 in favour of the visitors with 16:26 to go.
As 12:30 remained, two converted free-throws from Dunn gave the Clan their first lead of the half, edging out the Vikings 55-54 with 12:30 to play.
The Clan would hold their lead for the better part of the next eight minutes, leading 73-70 thanks to a layup from Cole with 3:18 to play.
With 2:04 to play Robert Oliver would convert on a layup that would give the top ranked Vikings the lead for good.
While the game remained tight through the final two minutes, and Cole converted a three-pointer as the buzzer rang, the Vikings were able to hold on for the one point victory.
The loss drops the home team's record to 2-10 in the GNAC and 9-11 overall.
The Clan will turn their sights to a two-game road trip where they first face the Seattle Pacific University Falcons in Seattle, WA on February 13 at 7:30 p.m. before travelling to Billings, MT on Saturday to face the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets.
