BURNABY, B.C. – NCAA basketball made a spectacular return to Simon Fraser University Saturday night.
 
In the first women's or men's varsity game at the school in 637 days, 1,600 fans showed up to watch the SFU men's basketball team beat the University of B.C., a U Sports program, 90-82 in the opening game of The SFU Showdown tournament.
 
The non-conference victory also gives SFU possession of the Buchanan Cup, emblematic of supremacy in the Lower Mainland basketball rivalry. The series sits at 17 wins apiece with one tie; UBC won the last meeting before Saturday in the fall of 2015.
 
"It's been a long time coming," commented SFU head coach Steve Hanson. "Just playing in this environment is so special. I'm just so proud of our whole school, the whole department and how we got ready. The fan interest and support were so huge for this game. It takes both of these teams to want to play to have this kind of crowd. We have to do something like this every year. It was outstanding."
 
"It was wonderful to see this great of a game played in front of such an amazing crowd," said Theresa Hanson, SFU's Senior Director, Athletics & Recreation. "With this kind of atmosphere, we were all winners tonight."
 

The sell-out crowd was electrified by SFU's team performance.
 
Senior Jasdeep Singh recorded 23 points and six rebounds. The forward was 9-of-13 shooting from the field, converting three of his six attempts from behind the three-point line.
 
"He came to play in the first half," said Steve Hanson of Singh. "Those shots are what we see in practice, and they're not always my favourite shots but he's such an outstanding isolation player, and when he's feeling it, you have to let good players go. He just steps up to the moment. It was huge game for him."
 
Sophomore guard David Penney scored 14 points, and dished out a team-best six assists. Senior forward Julian Roche had 11 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks, which tied for the most by any Great Northwest Athletic Conference player Saturday.
 
Freshman guard Elliot Dimaculangan made three triples and two foul shots for an 11-point outing off the bench.
 
The visiting Thunderbirds had five players reach double digits in scoring, with Sukhman Sandhu's 16 points leading the way. Senior guard Grant Audu posted 15.
 
An Audu foul shot with 1:23 to go in regulation shrunk SFU's lead to just 81-77. It was the smallest gap between the teams since the hosts were up 16-12 in the first half. Audu missed his second attempt from the free-throw line, and SFU took the ball up the floor. Dimaculangan nailed a three-point bucket to put his team back up 84-77, with the assist going to Penney.
 
After stopping UBC on the next possession, Penney drew a foul and made both shots from the line to push the SFU lead to nine (86-77). The Thunderbirds answered with a pair of free throws of their own with 37 seconds left, and then got a steal but turned the ball over themselves just moments later.
 
UBC was forced to foul, and Dimaculangan was perfect on his two shots. The Thunderbirds got some hope after Sandhu's long-range shot with 11 seconds to go reduced their deficit to 88-82, but SFU closed out the game on a couple of free throws from Singh. The team was perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final minute.
 

The hosts led 47-34 at the half. After UBC's Kyle Foreman opened the scoring in the second, SFU went on an 11-3 surge to hold a 19-point lead at 58-39.
 
Penney and junior guard Drew Bryson alternated baskets to start the run. UBC's Brian Wallack had a bucket and foul shot in response, but a Penney layup, a Bryson three, and a layup from junior guard/forward Jahmal Wright gave SFU its largest advantage of the night with 16:44 to go in the game.
 
The Thunderbirds cut that margin to a dozen, but Roche's thunderous fast-break dunk, sparked by a Dimaculangan steal, pushed the score to 67-49 midway through the second half.
 
Just a minute later, a sideline long-range shot from senior guard Josiah Mastandrea increased the lead back to 19 at 71-52 with 9:09 left.
 
Over the next 7:46, the T-Birds chipped away at that gap until it was just four.
 
"We knew how well they've shot the ball so it didn't surprise me when they got rolling a bit," said Steve Hanson of UBC. "They did a couple of things, like switching to 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone defences, that definitely took us out of our offensive flow. It got close and we had to clutch up a bit. We had to get some young guys out there for two, three, four minutes to relieve David, Josiah and Jas, who were pretty exhausted down the stretch. Elliot hit some big shots and Drew made some key layups, just big plays that we sealed the game with."
 

SFU started the contest on a roll, going up 12-3 on Singh's three-point basket just over six minutes into the game. A later 7-0 run, again capped off by a Singh shot from behind the arc, saw the hosts ahead by double digits (26-14) for the first time.
 
With the exception of a couple of possessions, SFU held a double-digit lead for the rest of the half. The score hit 47-30 with about a minute and a half left when freshman guard Hunter Cruz-Dumont, who faced off Saturday against his brother Jack of UBC, made a three-point shot from the wing in front of the T-Birds' bench.
 
Outstanding shooting was SFU's trademark on the night, as the team made 54.7 per cent (35-64) of its chances from the field, and went 10-20 on three-point attempts. UBC hit at a 44.6 per cent clip (29-65). The visitors were also excellent from beyond the arc, going 12-of-27 (44.4 per cent).
 
SFU will face Langara in the tournament finale Sunday at the West Gym. The tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
Follow SFU Athletics on Twitter and on Instagram @SFU_Athletics.
 
--@SFU_Athletics--