Burnaby B.C. - Simon Fraser Red Leafs won a hard-fought game by a score of 71-63 last night against the Seattle Pacific University Falcons. Simon Fraser move to 7-18 on the season and look to keep building on some impressive wins down the stretch this season.
A back and forth start in this one as Seattle Pacific got hot right away shooting 70% from the field in the first seven minutes. Simon Fraser hung in well with the help of junior Eric Beckett who scored the Red Leafs first five points. SFU took the lead after the nine-minute mark despite Seattle Pacific's early success shooting the ball. Sophomore Immanuel Oludele was huge for SFU in the first ten minutes with an early steal and two tough mid-range jump shots. Oludele finished with 12 Pts and 3 Reb in 33 minutes.
The first quarter came to a close with a pretty spin layup from sophomore Zach Stone giving the Red Leafs a one-point lead. Stone and Beckett led all Red Leaf scorers at the half with 5 each. The Red Leafs took a one-point lead into half despite star point guard senior David Penney going the first 20 minutes without recording a field goal. SFU shot 39% from the field in a slow first half that saw both team's struggle.
The second half started fast with an early acrobatic layup from Penney who was excellent in the second frame. Penney recorded all of his points in the final 20 minutes, leading SFU scorers with 17 points. Junior Elliot Dimaculangan splashed a three pointer five minutes into the second half as SFU looked to pull away, extending their lead to seven.
In a game where the refs decided to put away the whistle, both teams struggled at the free-throw line shooting just 2-11 combined midway through the second half. Simon Fraser finished 11-16 from the charity stripe and Seattle Pacific finished just 3-8.
A deep three pointer from true freshman Irish Coquia put SFU up double digits with less than nine minutes remaining. Seattle Pacific would cut back into the lead with help from 2nd leading scorer in the conference, Shaw Anderson. Anderson would finish with 20 points on 57% shooting. Later on, David Penney would come in clutch for the Red Leafs with another tough layup to stretch the lead back up to eight. Dimaculangan would go on to knock down six consecutive free throws to ice the game for SFU as they took down Seattle Pacific on home court.
Notable performances from Red Leafs include:
David Penney – 17 Pts, 3 Reb, 5 Ast, 50%FG
Elliot Dimaculangan – 11 Pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl
Eric Beckett – 10 Pts, 4 Reb, 1 Ast
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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