BURNABY, BC ---

This Weekend, The Simon Fraser Men's Basketball Team will be hosting Western Oregon University and Concordia University in the West Gym. On Saturday night, against Concordia, SFU will be hosting their annual "Whiteout" game which will feature a free t-shirt giveaway and the MEI Screaming Eagles Marching Band. 

Coming into the weekend, Simon Fraser will be looking for some bounce back performances after a tough trip to Alaska last weekend. Simon Fraser played well for stretches of both matchups, but ultimately lacked the consistency to secure a victory over 40 minutes, something they're surely looking to remedy this weekend. SFU currently sits at 3-3 in the GNAC and 10-5 overall on the season. 

Jasdeep Singh still leads SFU in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game. Wilfried Balata leads the team in rebounding with 8.0 RPG, and Michael Provenzano leads the team in assists with 4.0 apg. Simon Fraser still holds an incredibly strong home record, sitting at 5-1 overall in the West Gym and 3-1 in GNAC play. 

Taking a look at the visitors for this upcoming weekend, Concordia University (who SFU will face for "Whiteout" night on Saturday at 7PM) has struggled so far this season, sitting at just 2-12 overall and 1-4 in conference play. Despite their struggles, Concordia will be riding some momentum coming into this weekend, having secured their first GNAC win of the year against Saint Martin's last Saturday night by a score of 86 to 74. 

Concordia was propelled to victory through balanced scoring, as four Concordia Players reached double figures. Junior forward Dakota Ayala led the way with 19 points, while Senior guard Xavier Smith added 17 points, five assists, and six steals. Prior to facing SFU in the West Gym, Concordia will face Western Washington on Thursday night in Bellingham.

The Western Oregon Wolves, who were originally slated to play SFU at 7PM on Thursday, will now face off against SFU on Monday afternoon due to the winter weather conditions on campus. WOU are sitting at 9-3 overall on the year, and like SFU, are sitting at 3-3 in GNAC play. The Wolves are coming off a split of last weekend's matchups, beating Saint Martin's handily on Thursday, before losing to GNAC leading Seattle Pacific 98-88 in overtime on Saturday. 

Senior guard Dalven Brushier is likely the player to watch for the Wolves. Last weekend, Brushier went off for 37 points against Saint Martin's, connected on 13 of 19 from the field and 9 of 15 from three-point range to go with six assists. He then scored 13 points against Seattle Pacific to go with five rebounds and five assists. On the season, Brushier is third in the GNAC in scoring at 18.7 points per game and is eighth with a .461 three-point percentage.

Head Coach Steve Hanson added his thoughts on the importance of the upcoming weekend:

"With the weather postponing our Western Oregon game, we have to quickly start preparing for Concordia are coming off a nice win over Saint Martin's. For our team, our focus is on getting back to basics. We have been turning the ball over too much these last 4 games, and this is not who we are. Ball security and getting good looks are two things that gave us a great start to the season and we need to get back to that. We have been rebounding the ball well, but we haven't taken advantage offensively. We are a little banged up right now, but that gives some of our other players a huge opportunity to step up and show us what they can bring to our program.  We are looking forward to the challenge the two Oregon teams present, and to see what we bring this Saturday for our annual "Whiteout" game."