BURNABY, B.C. – The Simon Fraser Red Leafs men's basketball team (5-9, 0-4 GNAC) led early Thursday night against visiting Seattle Pacific, but eventually dropped its Great Northwest Athletic Conference game to the Falcons by a score of 92-72 at the West Gym in Burnaby, B.C.
 
Guard / forward Immanuel Oludele of the hosts came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points. The freshman from Niagara Falls, Ont., made half of his eight field goal attempts and went 3 of 6 from the three-point line. Forwards Georges Lefebvre (Montreal) and Zach Stone (Ottawa) each contributed 10 points. Sophomore Lefebvre recorded a pair of blocks while freshman Stone went 4-for-5 on field goals. Sophomore guard Elliot Dimaculangan (Mississauga, Ont.) grabbed a Red Leafs-leading seven rebounds.
 
Kelton Samore posted 21 points to lead SPU (9-5,4-1 GNAC), which had five double-digit scorers in total. Syon Blackmon contributed 17 points.
 
"We were not good enough, so we have to get ready for tomorrow," said SFU head coach Steve Hanson.
 

The teams split the first 18 points of the game, before a Stone three-pointer with just over 14 minutes to go before halftime kick-started a 12-2 SFU run. The Falcons got a layup on the next possession. Then Oludele converted four free throws on the same possession after an SPU personal foul and an ensuing technical with 13 minutes left in the opening half.
 
Stone then put the Red Leafs up 19-11 with his second long-distance basket of the night. Sophomore forward Victor Radocaj (Richmond, B.C.) capped off the run with a jump shot that extended the SFU advantage to 21-11.
 
A layup-and-one from senior SFU guard / forward Jahmal Wright made the score 28-21 with less than seven minutes remaining. He was perfect on all four of his field goal attempts Thursday. However, the Falcons rallied to end the half on a 21-4 run to lead 42-32 at the mid-game break.
 
SPU extended its surge by recording the first nine points of the second half, all by Samore, to go ahead 51-32. The difference between the sides hovered between 16 and 19 points until midway through the half. The Falcons extended their lead to 27 late in the contest. The Red Leafs scored the game's final six points on two baskets from Radocaj and one from Stone.
 

SFU shot 42.4 per cent (28 of 66) from the field, and 33.3 per cent (7-21) from long distance. Seattle Pacific converted on 33 of 60 field goals, and 11 of 26 three-point attempts.
 
The Red Leafs will look to rebound on Saturday, when it hosts Montana State Billings (11-4, 5-0 GNAC) on the West Gym floor at 7 p.m. Fans will have the opportunity to win $500 in a paper airplane contest. Tickets can be purchased online at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-mens-basketball-vs-montana-state-university-billings-tickets-452153753047

- with files from Tiffani Martinez

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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