BURNABY, B.C. -- Senior forward Jasdeep Singh led the Simon Fraser men's basketball team with 25 points and 12 rebounds in its 73-63 win over Western Colorado Friday in Grand Junction, Colorado.

The contest was the first for SFU (4-2) at the Holiday Inn-Airport Thanksgiving Basketball Classic hosted by Colorado Mesa University. The result extended the team's winning streak to three after last week's triumphs over UBC and Langara at The SFU Showdown tournament.

Singh went 10 of 16 shooting from the floor, and made three of five three-point attempts.

Junior guard Wilfried Balata made his 2021-22 season debut Friday, coming off the bench to play 20 minutes. Balata was one of four SFU players, along with Jordan Lyons, David Penney and Julian Roche, to score nine points. He recorded five rebounds.

Roche, a senior forward, posted nine rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore guard Penney had a game-high six assists.

SFU led 30-20 at the half. The Mountaineers cut their deficit to 34-26 about three minutes into the second half, but SFU's Penney replied with a three-point shot. That basket started a stretch of about five minutes where SFU extended the gap to 17 points. Singh's basket from the top of the arc with 11:58 left in the game put the score at 48-31. It was the largest lead of the day for either program.

The Mountaineers drew within seven points, 59-52, with 6:15 on the clock. It was the closest they'd been since the 7:59 mark of the first half (20-13). Simon Fraser junior guard Drew Bryson replied with six-consecutive points, converting on his team's strong defensive play on the other end of the floor.

Western Colorado fought to the final whistle, but didn't reduce SFU's lead below eight after Bryson's basket with 3:53 remaining.
 

SFU kept the Mountaineers to just 20 points on 22.6 per cent shooting (7 of 31) in the first half.

WCU had an early 5-2 edge to start the game. Back-to-back Penney and Singh jumpers erased that. 

A Lyons dunk with 7:59 left before the break put SFU up 20-13. It was the beginning of a 10-0 run, which concluded with a Hunter Cruz-Dumont steal and fast-break layup with 3:40 to go. The freshman guard's score made it 28-13 in favour of Canada's NCAA team.

For the game, SFU shot 52.8 per cent (28 of 53) from the field and held WCU to 36.4 per cent (24 of 66). It is the third-consecutive time the team has surpassed the 50 per cent mark in shooting. 

SFU was dominant in the paint, outscoring the Mountaineers 42-24 inside, and out-rebounding them 43-33.

Next up is a clash with host Colorado Mesa Saturday night at 6 p.m. PT to wrap up the Holiday Inn-Airport Thanksgiving Basketball Classic. CMU received votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 poll. 

SFU will play at Western Washington on Saturday, Dec. 4 to open its Great Northwest Athletic Conference slate. The next home appearance for head coach Steve Hanson's squad is Dec. 7 versus Douglas. 

Follow SFU Athletics on Twitter and on Instagram @SFU_Athletics.
 
--@SFU_Athletics--