BURNABY, B.C. – The Simon Fraser Red Leafs battled hard but were unable to keep pace with the Central Washington Wildcats as they suffered a 92-68 loss in Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball action Saturday.
 
Sophomore forwards Zach Stone (Ottawa) and Nigel Hylton (Toronto) led the Red Leafs (3-17, 1-8 GNAC) in scoring with 12 points apiece, with Stone adding seven rebounds and three assists. Jovan Rai, a junior guard from Markham, Ont., showed well off the bench with nine points and a season-high five boards.
 
Samaad Hector led the way for CWU (13-5, 6-3 GNAC) with 17 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Anjaylo Lloyd chipped in 14 points off the bench.
 
The host Wildcats hit 11 three-pointers as they improved to 9-1 at home in Ellensburg, Washington.
 

The Red Leafs' defence forced three Wildcat turnovers in the first six and a half minutes. Offensively, Stone led the charge early by scoring seven of his team's first 13 points. A triple from freshman guard Irish Coquia (Vancouver) capped off an 11-5 SFU run that cut CWU's early lead to just 26-24, but the hosts responded with a 10-3 run to reassert control.
 
The Red Leafs found themselves down 44-31 at the half, connecting on four of their nine attempts from beyond the arc but out-rebounded 26-17.
 
Freshman forward Van Bylandt, free of his early foul trouble in the second half, started the frame well with four quick points. A Stone three-pointer and another layup from Van Bylandt cut the SFU deficit to single digits, but the Wildcats again had the answer and stretched their lead out to 16 by the under-12 media timeout.
 
The Red Leafs continue their four-game road stretch next week with a trip to Monmouth, Oregon, to take on Western Oregon Wolves (5-12, 2-7 GNAC) on Thursday, February 1. Two days later SFU will play at Saint Martin's in Lacey, Washington.
 
The Red Leafs will return home for games Feb. 8 and 10 at the West Gym.
 
Tickets:
Feb. 8: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-mens-basketball-vs-montana-state-university-billings-tickets-727841432317
Feb. 10: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-mens-basketball-vs-seattle-pacific-university-tickets-727843007027
 
For the latest information on SFU Athletics, visit athletics.sfu.ca. You can also find us on social media at @SFU_Athletics.

#RepTheLeaf