BILLINGS, Mont. – Simon Fraser parlayed hot-shooting first half into a double-digit lead and then defeated Montana State Billings 75-64 to snap a three-game losing streak Saturday in Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball action.
Simon Fraser went 9-for-16 on threes in the first half and finished with a season-high 12 threes and 36 points from beyond the arc.
David Penney scored a game-high and season-high 25 points, connecting on 5-of-6 threes and shooting 10-of-14 from the field in 35 minutes.
Julian Roche and
Jahmal Wright both went 3-of-5 on threes. Roche finished with 18 points and six rebounds. Wright had nine points and four boards.
Jordan Lyons reached double figures scoring with 11 points.
Simon Fraser shot 29-for-54 (55.56%) from the field, compared to MSUB's 25-for-55 (45.5%) clip and SFU won the rebounding battle by a 33-27 margin.
Damen Thacker had a team-high 20 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Yellowjackets.
Roche sank a three at the buzzer to give SFU a 38-31 advantage at halftime. SFU grew the lead to as many as 11 points, before MSUB cut the deficit to three with 6 minutes and 9 seconds to go.
Simon Fraser responded with a 10-0 run in five minutes to pull away from the Yellowjackets.
Simon Fraser (11-11 overall) snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 6-8 in GNAC games. MSUB is 12-13 overall, 8-7 in GNAC play.
SFU plays at Northwest Nazarene on Tuesday.
The team has one final home game remaining on Saturday, Feb. 26, a day that will feature the women's team playing at 5:15 pm and the men playing at 7:30 pm against Western Washington in the West Gym. This will be the final home game for SFU's senior student-athletes on both teams and it will feature the Whiteout t-shirt toss to send both teams off to the conference playoffs. T-shirts will be tossed into the crowd throughout both games and fans are encouraged to wear white.
In an effort to lessen the effects of postponements and cancellations of games this season due to COVID-19, the GNAC has expanded this year's conference post-season tournament to all 10 men's and women's programs. The GNAC Championships will run from March 2 to 5.
-- With files from MSUB communications
