LOS ANGELES – The Simon Fraser men's basketball team wrapped up its season-opening California swing with an 88-77 loss to the California State Los Angeles Golden Eagles in a non-conference matchup Monday night.
The hosts, of the CCAA, led from start to finish, despite SFU's comeback attempt in the latter stages of the game.
Julian Roche led SFU in points (23) and rebounds (seven). The senior forward was 7-of-13 shooting (53.8 per cent) and made three of his five long-range shots. Senior guard
Josiah Mastandrea came off the bench to pour in 22 points in 22 minutes. He shot 53.3 per cent (8 of 15) from the field. Mastandrea hit four triples, and recorded four steals to lead SFU. Sophomore guard
David Penney dished out six assists.
For the game, Cal State LA shot 52.5 per cent (32-61), and was 10-23 on three-pointers. SFU was 26-73 for a 35.6 per cent mark from the field, and 10-38 from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles had the rebounding edge, 47-31. SFU had 10 steals and 10 turnovers, compared to five and 19, respectively, for the home side.
Josiah Mastandea. Photo by Robert Huskey / CSU Los Angeles
The best SFU stretch of the game was a 13-0 run in the second half. Down 72-43, Roche nailed a three-point basket with 7:30 left in regulation. Then Mastandrea stole the ball from CSULA and broke to the hoop for a fast-break layup.
SFU forced another turnover on the ensuing possession. Roche got the steal, and then converted on a three-point attempt with the assist going to guard
Elliot Dimaculangan. That cut the CSULA advantage to 72-51. Mastandrea registered another triple, with 6:06 on the clock, before a couple of Roche free throws capped off the run about a minute later. SFU trailed 72-56.
With 3:31 to go, Mastandrea found the bottom of the net from long range again to get SFU within 15 points at 77-62. The visitors fought to the final buzzer, and closed the gap to 88-77 with Mastandrea's fourth three of the contest before running out of time.
SFU outscored CSULA 52-39 in the second half.
The Golden Eagles rode excellent rebounding and shooting to take a 49-25 lead into halftime. In the opening 20 minutes, SFU was out-rebounded 27-12. CSULA made 19 of its 36 shot attempts (52.8 per cent) from the field, including seven of its 14 chances from long range. SFU was successful on 30 per cent of its shots (9-30).
Drew Bryson (left) and Jasdeep Singh (right). Photo by Robert Huskey / CSU Los Angeles
After the hosts opened the game with a 9-0 run, SFU senior forward
Jasdeep Singh hit a three-pointer to close the gap to 15-11. The score was 24-18 in favour of the Golden Eagles after SFU got a Roche layup with 8:51 remaining before the mid-game break. However, Cal State LA answered with an extended 25-7 run to end the half.
SFU went 1-2 on its three-game California road trip to start the 2021-22 season. At the CCAA/GNAC Challenge in Carson, California, SFU beat California State Dominguez Hills Friday by a score of 63-52. The squad was edged 63-59 Saturday by Humboldt State.
The focus now shifts to one of the biggest events on the local basketball calendar, The SFU Showdown, taking place Nov. 19-21 at the West Gym in Burnaby. SFU men's basketball will host games against Central Washington (Friday at 7 p.m. –
link to tickets) and UBC (Saturday at 7:30 p.m. –
link to tickets). CWU will also face Langara Saturday at 5:15 p.m., and Capilano Sunday at 2 p.m.
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