The men’s basketball team finished with a .333 record in the conference, losing 110–77 to the Western Washington Vikings in their final game, and just missing a chance to compete at the playoffs.
On paper, this sounds like a bad ending to a mediocre season. But when you consider that during their time in the NCAA, they’ve never had a winning percentage above .167, and that they’ve never previously won consecutive conference games before — this year they had two winning streaks — it was an outstanding season.
With a revamped, high-octane offence, the Clan led the entire NCAA Division II in scoring offence with 104.2 points per game — the nearest team in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) scored on average 81.9 points per game.
The key to the team’s success this season was the fact that SFU either won or almost won nearly every game they played. Sure, there were some blowouts, but for the most part, even in the losses, the Clan kept the game close.
The team’s better, more competitive performance this season inspired fans to come out. In the West Gym, there was an emergence of a true college basketball atmosphere — the Clan fans were loud and proud. Even during reading break, a solid contingent of fans came out.
“It was a successful season, it was historical,” said head coach James Blake. “The university should be proud, the kids should be proud. They really put a stamp on SFU basketball, on the men’s side finally. People are talking about SFU men’s basketball.
“I’m excited for the kids, I’m excited for the program,” he continued.
The Clan still ran into trouble after Christmas break, losing seven straight once the new year began — it’s probably not a coincidence that before Christmas SFU plays mainly local, non-conference competition, while after the break they face only GNAC competition.
Coach Blake acknowledges this as one of the team’s weaknesses — a problem he attributes to the exam break in January, which he noted forced the team to take a nearly three-and-a-half week break.
“We haven’t gotten over that hump yet,” Blake told The Peak. “We’ve got to figure out as an institution, and as a program, how we’re going to combat that.”
But even after the new year, the Clan put up five wins, which was the best January/February record for the team. Seven out of their 12 previous losses were within 10 points or less.
This season, the men’s basketball team was headed in the right direction. Although they will have a challenge replacing seniors Sango Niang, Justin Cole, and Daniel Deflorimonte — key cogs in SFU’s scoring offence — the Clan should only improve next season.
