BURNABY, B.C. – Down 22 points late in the first half, the Simon Fraser men's basketball team put together a fantastic comeback to edge Saint Martin's (Wash.) 64-63 Thursday night at the West Gym.

The win improved SFU's record to 10-8, and 5-5 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference contests. It also gave the team a season split against the Saints (14-7, 7-5 GNAC), who won 80-55 in Lacey, Washington, on January 15.
 
Down 63-62, freshman guard Elliot Dimaculangan hit a high-arcing baseline jump shot with 7.2 seconds left in the game for the winning points. On the play, he beat an SMU player to a pass that had deflected into the corner in front of the SFU bench. Dimaculangan then spun past his defender along the baseline and hoisted up a shot that hit the side rim and fell through.
 
The Saints drew a foul with three seconds left but SFU forced a turnover on the ensuing in-bounds play to clinch the win.
 
"We didn't give up tonight and it shows," said senior forward Julian Roche, who led SFU with 16 points and 10 rebounds (six offensive). "We were down for the most of the game, but all that really matters is you have more points than the other team at the final buzzer. If you can string together stops and if you can string together scores. That's what we did tonight. That's takes resilience."
 
Roche spoke of his team's desire and effort in overturning the first-half deficit.
 
"People come out here and support us. They drive from all over Greater Vancouver to come support us, so it would be disrespectful to just give up," he said. "Our fans work hard and they come support us on their own time. They don't have to do that, so we have an opportunity to put on a show for them and try to get a win. That's what we did for 40 minutes today, and we ended up getting it done."
 
Dimaculangan scored 13 points in total, and also recorded four assists. Senior Josiah Mastandrea posted 12, all via the three-point shot. The two combined for all 25 of SFU's bench points Thursday.
 

Four SMU players reached double digits in scoring. Kyle Greeley and Brett Reed (10 rebounds) had 12 points each.
 
For the game, Simon Fraser shot 38.2 per cent from the field (26 of 68), 24.3 per cent from behind the three-point arc (9 of 37) and 75 per cent (3 of 4) at the free throw line.
 
Saint Martin's jumped out to a 17-5 lead to open the matchup. Mastandrea made a long-distance shot with about eight and a half minutes left before halftime to cut SFU's deficit to 24-15.
 
However, the Saints went on a 13-0 run to go ahead by 22 points at 37-15 with just over four minutes remaining in the period. Roche replied with three baskets as part of 10-consecutive SFU points. SMU hit a layup at the buzzer to take a 39-25 advantage into the mid-game break.
 
The Saints still led 57-42 midway through the second half. The comeback began with a Balata layup, followed by a three-point shot from the guard. A Mastandrea three with 5:34 on the clock got SFU to within seven points at 57-50.
 
The teams traded baskets, before Dimaculangan banked in a triple to make it a two-possession game at 61-55 with SMU still in front. Alex Schumacher of the Saints replied with a driving layup with 3:29 left to stretch his team's advantage back to eight points, 63-55. But that was the last field goal SFU surrendered as the hosts didn't allow another SMU point the rest of the way.
 
SFU closed to 63-60 on another Dimaculangan three. Then Roche stepped into the lane and drew an offensive foul and turnover against Greeley with 1:37 remaining. Junior guard/forward Jahmal Wright hit a big layup with just over a minute to go to cut the margin to 63-62. SFU then got a defensive stop before getting the ball back for a possible game-winning score inside the final half-minute.
 

Dimaculangan missed on a three-point attempt with 20 seconds but SFU got the team rebound for a second opportunity, on which Dimaculangan made good with his dramatic final bucket.
 
"The difference was hitting shots in the second half," said SFU head coach Steve Hanson, whose team shot 31.4 per cent from the field in the first half, and 45.5 per cent in the second. "They (SMU) are big. Their wings are 6-7, 6-6 and long, and they make entry passes tough. We were not getting the ball inside out and that is what you have to do against a zone defence. You have to make it collapse to open up shots. But Josiah (4-of-12 from three) has been working his tail off so we'll let him shoot it all game, and Elliot (3-of-9) shot it well from pretty deep tonight because he had to. It was great."
 
Dimaculangan and Mastandrea teamed up for seven of SFU's nine baskets from behind the three-point line.
 
"The one thing I said at half is, 'We have to send a message, this could be a team we play in the first round of the playoffs, and if you pack it in, they're going to know that the next time we play them.' I think our guys were up to the challenge, and just played hard to see what could happen in the second half," said Hanson.
 
SFU forced 12 turnovers in the second half, and 17 overall. The team outscored SMU in points off turnovers 22-7.
 
The Saints made half of their shots (27 of 54) from the field, 27.3 per cent of their threes (3 of 11) and 85.7 per cent of their foul shots (6 of 7).
 
Simon Fraser will host Western Oregon Saturday at 3 p.m., before battling Alaska Anchorage Monday at 2 p.m. at the West Gym.

For the latest information on SFU Athletics visit https://athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.

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