BILLINGS, MT --- On Saturday night in Montana, the Simon Fraser University Men's Basketball team claimed a thrilling final second victory over the University of Montana Billings by a score of 74-73.
The Yellowjackets started the game on a 6-0 run, which set the tone for the rest of the first half, as the home team would control the balance of play. Billings went up by as many as twelve points with just over five minutes to play in the half, but Simon Fraser was eventually able to respond.
Drew Bryson and
Wilfried Balata led the charge for SFU, and at the half, they found themselves down just five at 38 to 33.
In the second, Simon Fraser worked hard to close the gap, but the Yellowjackets put up strong resistance, continuing to take it to the paint in order to preserve their lead. Finally, with 11:53 remaining,
Othniel Spence hit a three point shot which put his team within a basket. It was a much closer contest from there on out, and SFU held the lead inside the final four minutes of play at 67-65.
Eager to defend their home court, the Yellowjackets responded with a series of layups in crunch time which put them up by two with just two seconds remaining. Simon Fraser took a timeout at that point, and with the final shot of the game in desperation,
Michael Hannan fired an attempt from half court.
In the final play of his University and Simon Fraser career, Hannan hit the half-court shot, propelling SFU to victory in the process by a final score of 74 to 73.
Leading the way for SFU overall were Othniel Spence and Wilfried Balata with 18 points each. Balata also had 9 rebounds, and Michael Provenzano was the third leading scorer with 16 points. Simon Fraser ends its season at 16-13, with a 9-11 record in the GNAC.
