Coming off their first conference win of the season against Western Oregon at home on Saturday, Simon Fraser tried to keep the ball rolling as they travelled to Northwest Nazarene University on Thursday night. A fast pace and high-scoring offenses kept the game entertaining throughout, but unfortunately the Clan could not muster up another win against the 12–11 overall Crusaders.
After jumping off to a quick start against a great home team (Northwest Nazarene is now 9–3 in home games this season) with a 7–0 run, things were looking good for the Clan. After getting an offensive board, Iziah Sherman-Newsome got the ball back and hit a three to put the Clan up by 11 in the 13th minute.
A few moments later, another Sherman-Newsome jumper gave them their biggest lead of the game at 12, with a score of 23–11 for the visitors. The Crusaders did not go down easily however, as they outscored the Clan 28–10 the rest of the half, going on an impressive 15–3 run at one point. Heading into the break, Simon Fraser were down 39–33 after leading for most of the first half. While momentum was definitely going the other way, they knew that they could compete with this team.
Sherman-Newsome was the standout player of the half, as his 12 first-half points were a game high. On the other end, Jayden Bezzant lead the Crusaders with 11 points off of the bench.
The Clan took a blow to start the second half, as they went down by double-digits early. At 11:58, their deficit grew to as much as 14 after a Bezzant fast-break layup. At this point, Simon Fraser could have easily packed it in and accepted another loss. However, as has been typical of the Clan this season, they fought down the stretch. By 5:27, a Pankratz three-pointer cut the lead to as little as three, and capped a 15–6 run by the Clan.
With a score of 73–70 with five and a half minutes to play, the game would be won by whomever executed better down the stretch. Unfortunately, this team would be the Crusaders, as good free throw shooting to close the game would carry them to a 88–82 victory.
Pankratz’s hot shooting carried Simon Fraser throughout the second half with 17 points behind five three-pointers, and finished the game with a team-high 23. Interestingly, Michael Provenzano had 10 points in the second half, with all of them coming at the free throw line. He finished the game with 18 points. Sherman-Newsome followed his nice first half with an eight-point second half, and finished the game with 20 points on an efficient 7–10 shooting, including four three-pointers. Kedar Wright wrapped up Simon Fraser’s double-digit scorers with 11 points, but struggled shooting the ball as he went 4–16 from the field and 2–6 from the free throw line.
This loss marks the third-straight game that Simon Fraser has played within six points (going 1–2 in that stretch) after they suffered a blowout defeat to Alaska Anchorage. They are now 1–16 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) and 3–22 overall, but have shown improvements as of late.
Next Game: Simon Fraser will travel to Ellensburg, Washington to face off against the Central Washington Wildcats. The Wildcats have struggled as of late as they are on an eight-game losing streak, and are tied for second-last in the GNAC with a 7–10 conference record.
Simon Fraser will be looking to get revenge for the home defeat they got from Central Washington in January, in which they lost 97–85. Look for Kedar Wright to bounce back from Thursday night with a big game, as he had a team- high 25 points the last time these teams faced.
