BURNABY, BC --- Saturday night in the West Gym, the Simon Fraser University Men's Basketball team battled hard against the visiting University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks, but eventually fell in the final seconds by a final score of 87 to 85. 
 
Key to the Nanooks victory was junior guard Shadeed Shabazz for UAF, who posted an incredibly impressive 37 points, going 13-22 from the field and 6 for 10 from three-point range. 
 
Simon Fraser held a lead for the majority of the first half, which included a 12-2 run in the opening minutes. SFU was up 28 to 13 halfway through the first half, but Shabazz and the Nanooks found their offensive form as the half went on. With 1:34 left to play in the first half, UAF found themselves within a point at 38-37. Unable to respond, SFU surrendered a late Shabazz layup, and entered the half trailing by one at 39 to 38.
 
Simon Fraser surged ahead early on in the second half, but was never able to extend their lead beyond six points as UAF kept the home team within arm's reach. Although Fairbanks had been largely reliant on their key scorers for offense in the first half, UAF did a better job sharing the offensive load as the game went on, and balanced team play led to UAF re-capturing the lead at 59 to 57. 
 
Although SFU kept things close over the last 12 minutes, they would never see the lead again, as timely shots from UAF's Shadeed Shabazz and Alex Sommerfield helped propel the visitors to victory by a final score of 87 to 85. Othniel Spence hit a desperation three-pointer as time expired to make the margin of victory just two, but at that point, it was too little too late for an SFU team that's desperate for wins in order to maintain a chance for a playoff berth.
 
Statistically, SFU was led by Othniel Spence, who had 24 points and 3 assists. Wilfried Balata added 19 points on 7 for 10 shooting, while Michael Provenzano had 12 points and 6 assists.  Overall, SFU was effective with their shooting from the field (shooting 52%), but UAF was simply too clinical to contain by comparison, shooting the ball at 64%. Fairbanks also made the most of their shots, as 15 of their 32 makes on the night came from three-point range. 
 
Up next, Simon Fraser will be back out on the road, as they travel to Portland for a matchup with Concordia on February 13^th at 8:30PM.