BURNABY, B.C – The SFU men's basketball team completed a Senior Night sweep by beating the Western Washington Vikings Saturday night at the West Gym, 78-76. Earlier in the day, the SFU women scored a 69-67 overtime triumph over WWU.
During the pregame ceremony, the men's team honoured the graduating senior class with framed jerseys as they presented their families and loved ones with flowers. The men's seniors this season include
Dominic Postle,
Josiah Mastandrea,
Jordan Lyons,
Wilfried Balata,
Drew Bryson,
Julian Roche, and
Jasdeep Singh.
Head coach
Steve Hanson had high praise for his senior squad, stating this group has been transformational for the program.
"This entire group has faced a lot of adversity, from injuries, surgeries, COVID-19 shutdowns, and several 14-day isolations," he said. "No one could have prepared them for what they've gone through and I am extremely proud of how they have handled the adversity of the last two years together."
Seniors made up the SFU opening five tonight with Bryson, Lyons, Roche, Balata, and Mastandrea all getting the start tonight. Western Washington won the opening tipoff but after their first shot came short, SFU's Lyons opened up the night with a monstrous dunk assisted by teammate Mastandrea.
Mastandrea, however, wanted to score a bucket of his own and drained a deep three-point shot with 16 minutes remaining in the first half, giving SFU a 9-6 lead. Western Washington came up short on back-to-back shots, which allowed for Balata to add another three points to SFU's lead, making it 12-6. It forced Western Washington to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Vikings were able to sink a few threes to give themselves their first lead of the game (15-14).
Sophomore guard
David Penney launched an alley-oop for Lyons who put down an aggressive two-handed slam-dunk with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Junior
Jahmal Wright wanted in on the action and was able to notch himself back-to-back dunks to give SFU a 23-20 lead.
With just over three minutes remaining in the first half, freshman
Elliot Dimaculangan crossed over a WWU defender and hit a step-back three to give Simon Fraser a 34-33 edge.
At the end of the first half, the two teams were tied at 36 points apiece. SFU had a well-balanced offence in the first half, Mastandrea led the team with nine points, followed closely by Balata and Lyons with six each.
Both teams came out of halftime looking to make their mark on the ballgame. The Vikings scored the first four points of the half, but Wright took a pass from Penney just over two minutes in and sunk a deep three to bring SFU within two.
Moments later, Balata drained three straight three-point shots, giving SFU a four-point lead (55-51). On the second of the three triples, he officially passed the milestone of 1,000 career points.
The Vikings had a strong push halfway through the second period, Jalen Green had six points in just over five minutes to give Western Washington a 64-60 advantage with eight minutes remaining.
Simon Fraser battled back with a pair of threes from Penney with just under five minutes on the clock. The hosts held a one-point edge, 73-72.
Following a media timeout, Mastandrea drilled a deep three-point basket as the shot clock was running down, putting SFU in front 76-74 with just over three minutes remaining.
As time ran down in the game, Penney drove down the court and got fouled on a layup, making both of his free throws to give SFU a four-point lead (78-74) with 19 seconds remaining.
D'Angelo Minnis made a layup to cut the Vikings' deficit to two points. Then SFU missed two free throws, giving WWU, which won games last week on a buzzer-beater and a basket with 2.3. seconds left, a chance for another dramatic ending. However, a three-point shot at the end of the game was off-target, and SFU held on to take home the victory by a 78-76 final score.
Balata led the team in points with 18 and rebounds with nine. He said SFU played great team basketball tonight and gave credit to his coaches and teammates for tonight's success.
"It was a great way to go out, all the fans were here, my mom was here, it just feels good to win this game," he remarked.
Penney had 16 points, with half coming from free throws as he went perfect on all eight opportunities. He led the entire GNAC tonight with eight assists. Mastandrea had 12 points, while Roche recorded 11 and six rebounds.
Earlier this season, SFU defeated the Vikings 82-80 in overtime of the GNAC opener in Bellingham last December. SFU has won three of the last four meetings between the two teams.
Minnis finished with 28 points, the most of any Viking. Three others reached double digits in scoring.
SFU shot 43.3 per cent from both the field (26 of 60) and from behind the three-point arc (13 of 30).
With the win, the team ended the regular season seventh in the GNAC standings (based on the Points Rating System) with a record of 7-9 in league games and 12-12 overall. SFU will open the GNAC Men's Basketball Championships on Wednesday (4:30 p.m.) in Seattle with a first-round contest against 10th seed Alaska.
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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