Box Score BURNABY, British Columbia — Simon Fraser finally pulled away Saturday in what was a close game nearly the whole way, going on a 12-2 run in the final 5 minutes, 15 seconds, to defeat the Alaska men's basketball team 70-60 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference matchup at the West Gym.
In the game's first 34:45 of playing time, there were eight ties and 12 lead changes. Alaska (12-7, 7-4 GNAC) tied the score for the final time at 58-58 with 5:15 to play on a layup from junior guard
Anthony Reese (Everson, Wash./Biological Sciences).
That's when the Clan (9-10, 2-9 GNAC) started to shut down the Nanooks, forcing two Alaska turnovers and holding it to 0 for 6 shooting from the floor in the final five minutes of the game. Alaska also committed five fouls in the waning minutes, and its only two points during SFU's 12-2 closing push came from the free-throw line.
Simon Fraser had five players score in double figures. Sango Niang led all players 15 points. Ibrahim Appiah had a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Senior forward
Andrew Kelly (Gilbert, Ariz./Justice) led Alaska with 14 points on 6 for 7 shooting.
Alaska led by as many as six points early in the first half after a 10-2 run gave them a 10-4 lead, but Simon Fraser answered with its own 16-4 run to take back a six-point advantage. The Nanooks would overcome that deficit and another five-point deficit later in the half to grab a one-point, 31-30 halftime lead.
The Nanooks and Clan switched places in the second half, as SFU shot 56.5 percent to Alaska's 47.6 percent. 47.6 percent was exactly what Simon Fraser shot in the first half, as the Nanooks posted a 54.5 shooting percentage in the first stanza.
Alaska played catch-up for most of the second half after Simon Fraser opened with a 14-6 run to take another five-point lead at 44-39 with 14:24 to play. The Clan's lead never grew to more than six points the rest of the way until it began its 12-2 run to close the game.
Junior guard
Joe Slocum (San Francisco/Communication) had 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals for Alaska. Senior center
Sergej Pucar (Belgrade, Serbia/Business Administration) and senior guard
Ronnie Baker (Vallejo, Calif./Communication) both added 10 points and an assist.
Saturday was the first time Alaska shot over 50 percent for the game (51.2 percent) since shooting 52.7 percent against Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 18. The loss was the team's first this season after leading at halftime. Alaska began the year winning 10 straight with a lead at the break. It was also the Nanooks' first defeat this year when shooting better than 50 percent, winning the first two times they did that in 2013-14.
Alaska returns home to the Patty Center next week for a two-game home stand starting at 7 p.m. Thursday against Montana State Billings. The Nanooks host No. 20 and co-GNAC leader Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m. Saturday.
