BURNABY, B.C. - Junior guard Drew Bryson hit a difficult turnaround jump shot with 2.5 seconds left in overtime to give Simon Fraser an 82-80 victory at Western Washington Saturday afternoon in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opener for both men's basketball squads.

SFU scored the final five points of overtime to earn the win in its first GNAC game since Feb. 29, 2020 at Montana State Billings.

Western Washington went ahead 80-77 with 1:22 remaining in the extra period. SFU then took possession of the ball, and senior forward Jasdeep Singh worked it inside before passing over a double team to Julian Roche on the baseline. The senior forward made the layup and drew a foul with 56.2 seconds to go. He tied the game at 80-80 with the successful free throw.

The host Vikings had a chance to re-take the lead with a three-point attempt as well as a putback on the rebound, but neither shot fell and junior guard Wilfried Balata controlled the ball for SFU. Head coach Steve Hanson then called a timeout with 25.9 seconds on the clock, setting the stage for Bryson, who hit his shot from the left wing just inside the three-point arc, and in front of his own bench.

Roche led SFU with a career-high 26 points, 10 rebounds, and three steals. He made 11 of his 15 shots from the field and four of five from the foul line. Roche's previous single-game best of 25 points also came at Western Washington, on Jan. 15, 2019.
 

Sophomore guard David Penney recorded 15 points on six of 10 shooting, and a personal-best eight assists. Balata scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Singh also had seven rebounds.

Bryson's basket capped off an entertaining, back-and-forth battle between the border rivals.

The Vikings hit three shots from long distance as part of a game-opening 11-2 run. SFU chipped away at the gap. A Roche steal and fast-break layup 4:31 before halftime finished off a 9-2 surge that gave SFU its first lead at 29-28.

Western Washington replied with a bucket on its next possession. SFU's answer was a 10-2 run that left it with a 39-32 advantage with just over a minute left in the half. Penney hit a jump shot and then two free throws to spark the momentum, Singh made a jumper before Roche converted two layups. Two WWU triples to end the half made the score 39-38, still in favour of the Canadian visitors.

The Vikings started the second half with an 8-2 roll to take a 46-41 lead. WWU was still ahead 56-51 after Lucas Holden's long-range shot with 9:19 left in regulation. Five points was the biggest gap between the teams in the second half and overtime.
 

SFU went on a 6-0 run, with all points coming from Roche, to go ahead 73-69 with 1:03 to go. A Daniel Hornbuckle jumper made it 73-71, then the Vikings' D'Angelo Minnis got a steal and layup with seven seconds remaining to tie the score, and send the game into overtime.

Dakota Ayala recorded 21 points and seven rebounds to top the WWU roster in both categories.

It was another efficient shooting night for SFU, which converted 54.7 per cent of its opportunities from the field (35 of 64). Western was 32 of 68 for 47.1 per cent efficiency. SFU outscored the hosts 52-32 in the paint, and out-rebounded them 38-28.
 

SFU improved to 5-3 overall by snapping a 13-game losing streak in games at Western Washington. SFU has beaten the Vikings three times in their last four overall meetings. The team will host Douglas on Tuesday at the West Gym. The opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.

- with files from Western Washington Athletics

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