BURNABY, B.C. – Junior guard Elliot Dimaculangan (Mississauga, Ont.) scored a career-high 28 points for SFU in the Red Leafs' 92-78 loss Tuesday to Colorado Mesa. He made nine of 16 field-goal attempts, including four of 10 from the three-point line. Dimaculangan converted all six free throws for the second consecutive game, and also grabbed six rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard/forward Immanuel Oludele (Niagara Falls, Ont.) and freshman forward Matthys Van Bylandt (North Vancouver, B.C.) established single-game personal bests in rebounds with 10 and eight, respectively. Senior guard David Penney (Guelph, Ont.) recorded six assists.
 
The game was the finale for SFU (2-10) at the High Desert Classic men's basketball tournament at Las Vegas' Desert Oasis High School.
 
Owen Koonce had 27 points to lead the Mavericks (9-2), who came into Tuesday's matchup ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II coaches poll and 14th in the media rankings.
 
It was a two-possession game for a large chunk of the opening half. Koonce's jump shot with 7:19 to go before halftime put Colorado Mesa up by nine points at 33-24. The Red Leafs answered back right away with a 7-0 run. Sophomore forward Zach Stone (Ottawa) notched a three-point play for SFU on the next possession with a layup and foul shot. Van Bylandt made a free throw before Dimaculangan hit the target on his long-distance attempt with 4:26 on the clock.
 

 
The Mavericks posted the next 11 points to establish their largest lead of the first half at 13 points (44-31). Dimaculangan scored the last five points of the period with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer to make it 46-38 at the break.
 
Colorado Mesa stretched its lead to 19 (66-47) with just over 13 minutes remaining, and eventually to 21 (90-69) with 2:40 to go. But the Red Leafs continued to fight, putting together a 9-0 run to close the gap to 90-78. The run started with a three from sophomore forward Nigel Hylton (Toronto), followed by a pair of Van Bylandt free throws. With 1:07 left, sophomore centre Sasha Vujisic (Burnaby, B.C.) got an offensive rebound and made a layup to cut the deficit to 14 points. After a defensive stop on the next possession, SFU got a fast-break layup from junior guard Jovan Rai of Markham, Ont.
 
The Red Leafs will return in the new year, with home games on Jan. 4 and 6 against Saint Martin's and Western Oregon, respectively.
 
Tickets can be purchased at the following links:
Jan. 4 vs. Saint Martin's: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-mens-basketball-vs-saint-martins-university-tickets-727789687547
Jan. 6 vs. Western Oregon: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-mens-basketball-vs-western-oregon-university-tickets-727795876057
 
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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