Less than a week after putting up their highest single-game point total against NCAA competition, the Clan couldn’t keep their offence going in an 82-71 loss to the Western Oregon University Wolves on Wednesday.
In the first game of their season-ending road-trip, the Clan couldn’t hold onto the ball. Fifteen turnovers plagued SFU’s efforts, especially after getting off to a rough start. It wasn’t until four minutes had elapsed and the Wolves had already put up 13 points that SFU hit its first basket of the game.
However, that kick-started a 14-0 run for the Clan, giving the visitors their first lead of the game with 12 minutes to play in the first. Unfortunately, it was short lived. After a period of trading baskets, the Wolves went on an 11-0 run of their own to pull ahead 36-30 towards the end of the first half.
SFU stuck around, trailing just 41-40 after 20, but in a battle of runs, WOU took a decisive 56-45 lead off an 11-1 run, a lead they would not relinquish.
“On the defensive end, we just wore down in the second half,” said head coach James Blake. “They started getting us on the offensive boards. Going down the stretch, that was ultimately what led to our demise.”
Senior Ibrahim Appiah grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds in the game, but even that wasn’t enough. Neither were Sango Niang’s game-high 30 points.
On that pair’s effort, Blake added, “Overall I’m happy with the effort. We have some great individual efforts and some things to build on.”
The loss drops the Clan’s record to 10-15 overall, but a dismal 3-14 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. With the season over — the Clan played their final game after press time — Blake must hope that, even with key players moving on, there’s enough to build on for next year.
