SFU finished the 2012 schedule with two losses in California
By Bryan Scott
The Simon Fraser men’s basketball team was in action for a couple of road games before the winter break began. Their first destination was San Rafael, CA, where they took on the Dominican University of California Penguins. The Clan were unable to defeat their opponents, losing the game decidedly 96–60. Next, they continued south to San Francisco, where they lost a close battle to the Academy of Art University Urban Knights.
In the first game, the beginning of the first half was back and forth. About a quarter of the way through the game, both teams had the lead at least once. The game was tied at 11, when Clan guard nailed back-to-back free throws to give them the lead. Unfortunately, this was the last time the Clan saw the lead in the game. After trailing by just one with just over eight minutes in the half, the Penguins went on 10–0 run over the next two minutes, and then followed that up with another run, giving them a substantial 50–33 lead at halftime. The second half was much of the same. The Penguins dominated and got 35 points of the bench in the half to secure the win. Matt Raivio led the Clan with 11 points and three rebounds.
The Clan headed into San Francisco hoping to finish their 2012 portion of the season on a winning note. The game was tight in the opening minutes, which saw the Clan take an early 2–1 lead but they could not maintain it. They were solid from the free throw line in the first half, but trailed by
eight at 36–28 when the time ran out on the half. Clan senior forward Milos Milosevic led the Clan with 12 points in the half, and Ibrahim Appiah added nine points, including five free throws.
The Clan slouched out of the gates to start the half, and allowed the Urban Knights to lead by as many as 15 points early on. But the Clan battled back to close the gap and tie the game at 58 on two free throws by Anto Olah. The teams traded the lead over the next few minutes, but the Urban Knights finished on a 8–2 run to end the game with a three-point victory.
The loss leaves the Clan a 5–4 on the season. They will begin a more conference-oriented schedule in 2013.
