BELLINGHAM, WA --- On Thursday night in Carver Gym, the Simon Fraser Men's Basketball team fell to the Western Washington Vikings by a final score of 69 to 60.
Spurred on by their Senior Night pre-game ceremonies, the Vikings got the game off to a hot start, jumping out on a 17-8 run. After doubling SFU up at 24-12, Simon Fraser finally managed to settle into the game. Eventually, they would respond with a 6-0 run of their own, and as their play improved, the lead was closed to just 30-26. At the half, SFU found itself trailing 33 to 28.
Jasdeep Singh was SFU's top performer in the first half with 8 points and 5 rebounds, while SFU struggled from deep, going just 1-8 from three-point range.
The second half began as a back and forth affair, with
Jasdeep Singh draining a three which initially put the visitors up 36 to 35. The lead changed hands several times over the next few minutes, and
Corey Nzigamasabo hit his first three point shot of the year as SFU went ahead at 45-43.
With just seven minutes remaining, Simon Fraser looked strong up 56-53. But over the next several minutes, SFU suffered at the hands of an 11-1 Vikings run that would prove crucial. Simon Fraser simply had no answer for WWU down the stretch and scored just 4 points in their final seven minutes of play en route to a nine-point loss at 69 to 60.
Simon Fraser missed their second leading scorer in
Othniel Spence, who was held out due to injury after a gritty senior night performance.
Jasdeep Singh led SFU overall with 18 points and 9 rebounds, while
Michael Provenzano also had 11 points. Simon Fraser outrebounded WWU and scored more bench points, but the Vikings 56 points in the paint ultimately provided reliable scoring in clutch time that SFU simply could not match.
Up next, Simon Fraser travels to Billings for their final game of the regular season, game time vs. MSUB is set for 6:30 (February 29
th).