BURNABY, B.C. – A second-half comeback by the Simon Fraser Red Leafs men's basketball team fell just short in a 75-73 loss to visiting Western Oregon Thursday night in Burnaby, B.C. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference game was contested in front of a loud West Gym crowd of 813 celebrating the inaugural Filipino Heritage Night for SFU (6-14, 1-9 GNAC).
 
Junior guard David Penney (Guelph, Ont.), one of three Red Leafs with Filipino heritage, led his team with 15 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard / forward Jahmal Wright (Toronto) recorded 13 points and six rebounds. Freshman guard / forward Immanuel Oludele (Niagara Falls, Ont.) posted 11 points.
 
Sophomore guard Elliot Dimaculangan (Mississauga, Ont.), another featured Filipino player on Thursday, had a team-best five assists. Wright, and sophomore forwards Zach Stone (Ottawa) and Victor Radocaj (Richmond, B.C.) all had a pair of blocks. SFU blocked an impressive 11 shots, tied for the second-most by the team in an NCAA-era game.
 
Guard Yosani Clay scored 16 points for the Wolves (8-9, 5-5 GNAC). Forward Morrill-Keeler had 10, nine rebounds and three blocks. Cameron Benzel, a forward, contributed 14 points.
 
Down 75-73 with 10 seconds to go, Penney made a miraculous steal in the left corner to give SFU the ball back. On the game's final possession, Stone went up for a layup and was contacted by defender John Morrill-Keeler. The ball shot went off the backboard and then the inside of the front rim before rolling out. For nearly the entire final 20 minutes, neither squad led by more than two possessions.
 

"Jahmal Wright's put-back dunk inspired the team, and got the team excited. The players really fed off that," said SFU head coach Steve Hanson. "We can't figure out our lack of offence in the first half, it was not very inspiring. We were getting killed on the boards in the first half, but we battled a lot harder in the second and that was good to see.
 
"For our young players, you have to be in close games, before you learn to win those close games. A week ago, we were fouling with a minute left down seven points, and didn't really have a true chance to win. Tonight, not only losing our lead and then getting it back and coming up with that crazy steal on the baseline was amazing. On the final play, we ran it exactly how it was supposed to be run but we just didn't score at the rim at the buzzer."
 
SFU was behind 40-29 after a WOU three on the opening possession out of halftime, before fighting back with 14 points in a row. Radocaj got things started with a layup before Oludele followed with a three-point basket. After getting another defensive stop, the Red Leafs went back down the floor with the ball. With the shot clock running down, Penney launched a long-range attempt. It was strong and the ball bounced high off the back rim, but Wright timed his jump perfectly to get to the rebound ahead of his opponent and throw down a huge slam dunk. It electrified the crowd and got SFU to within four points of the Wolves at 40-36.
 
Later in the run, Penney made a pair of free throws before an acrobatic Wright block led to a fast-break layup. It tied the game at 40-40. After a WOU timeout, the Red Leafs got a block from Radocaj, which led to a Dimaculangan three-point basket that made it 43-40 in favour of the hosts.
 
The teams traded the lead a half-dozen times over the next five or so minutes. A Dimaculangan layup and two foul shots by sophomore guard Jovan Rai (Markham, Ont.) gave SFU its largest lead of the game at five points, 62-57, midway through the half. The Wolves rallied to take a four-point advantage, 68-64, inside the last six minutes, and then again with 4:34 remaining in the game (70-66).
 
After a jump shot from Wright, Penney made a difficult off-balance, step-back midrange jumper to restore the Red Leafs' edge at 73-72 with just over a minute to go. WOU scored on the next possession before getting a stop. Qiant Myers drew a foul and made one of two free throws to complete the scoring.
 
The Wolves led 17-13 in the first half, before freshman forward Nigel Hylton (Toronto) recorded SFU's next seven points to push his team in front 20-19. WOU then used an 18-4 surge to open up a 37-24 gap. The hosts posted the final five points to go into the half behind 37-29.
 
The Red Leafs shot 49.1 per cent from the field (27 of 55), 35 per cent from the three-point arc (7 of 20) and an impressive 92.3 per cent at the foul line, converting 12 of 13 attempts. The Wolves made 30 of 59 field goals (50.8 per cent) and eight of 13 long-distance shots (61.5 per cent). The visitors were just 7 of 15 (46.7 per cent) on free throws.
 

Hanson was thankful for the show of support Thursday night.
 
"The crowd tonight was outstanding," he said. "I got to witness the passion of the fans live and up close in the Philippines after my son, AJ, left SFU. He played at National U, and the first game I went to had about 14,000 fans. When he left there, he was playing at the Mall of Asia Arena, and that seated about 17,000. Ateneo came here in 2009-10 and that was a packed crowd.
 
"Between (SFU Event Coordinator) Tiffani Martinez and myself, and having some very good Filipino players on the team, I thought it was an easy fit. I think we can really build this and create more excitement. For young Filipino children, they can come see someone of their heritage play in the NCAA, and I think it is really inspiring. It would have been nice to get the win, but our university did a great job hosting Filipino Heritage Night."
 
SFU will back in action Saturday night, when it faces Saint Martin's at 7 p.m. It will be Puppy Therapy Night at the West Gym, with dogs at the venue from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. There will also be performances by the SFU Dance Team, a $500 half-court shot and t-shirt toss. Online tickets can be purchased at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-mens-basketball-vs-saint-martins-university-tickets-452161215367
 
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.
 
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