BURNABY, BC – Simon Fraser University came within minutes of upsetting No. 19 ranked Western Washington before losing 103-98 to the Vikings in Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball action Friday night at the West Gym.
The Viking, ranked No. 19 in the latest NABC Division II Coaches Poll, held off the Clan's late surge to improve to 9-2 on the season and improve to 3-0 in GNAC play. SFU falls to 2-10 on the season and 0-4 in league play.
It was the Clan's third loss in 12 days against nationally ranked opponents and this time the game went right down to the wire. The Clan fell 88-63 to the No. 15-ranked Tarleton State Texans and 83-58 to the No. 8-ranked Angelo State Rams in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic before Christmas.
Against the Vikings, a back-and-forth second half went down to the wire as Simon Fraser overcame a seven point halftime deficit to tie the score at 93-93 with 2:54 remaining. From there Taylor Stafford took over hitting four free throws and connecting on a pair of jump shots to score 8 of WWU's final 10 points. Consecutive baskets and a free throw by Iziah Sherman-Newsome pulled the Clan to within 101-98 with 41 seconds left but the Viking held on. WWU's Deandre Dickson put the game out of reach with an offensive rebound and a dunk with under 5 seconds remaining.
Simon Fraser was led by a career-high 28 points from junior guard Kedar Wright coming off the bench. He was 9-of-20 from the field and grabbed five rebounds playing all but four minutes of the game. Four Clan players reached double figures, with JJ Pankratz (19 points), Michael Provenzano (16 points) and Sherman-Newsom (15 points) helping to lead the Clan to a season-high 56.7% field goal percentage (34-for-60).
Western controlled most of the first half taking a 58-51 lead into halftime. The Vikings led by as much as 19 points at 54-35, but the Clan went on a 14-2 run to end the half pulling to within 7 points with a three-pointer by Othniel Spence with 4 seconds left on the clock. Pankratz (15 points) and Wright (11 points) scored in double-figures for the Clan in the first half. WWU shot 61.8% (21-for-34) from the field, while SFU was at 51.5% (17-for-33) in the high-scoring first half.
Dickson and Stafford combined for 62 points for Western. Dickson scored 31 points on 13-for-17 shooting from the field, and recorded 10 rebounds. Stafford poured in 31 points on 11-for-21 shooting.
WWU shot 56.1% from the field (37-for-66) and was 23-for-27 from the free throw line.
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