On Thursday and Saturday this past week, the Clan hosted both Columbia Bible College and Capilano University on Burnaby Mountain for exhibition matches. As expected, SFU proved to be the stronger team in both games. They have now won four games in a row after starting the season 0–2, and look poised to have a strong GNAC season when it begins on Thursday, November 29.
Vs. Columbia Bible College
Game one against Columbia was hardly a contest. The Clan dominated their opponent in the first half and never looked back, with the starters carrying SFU to a 15–4 lead. This dominance only continued as both teams started to rotate players. By the end of the first half, the score was 53–22, and everybody in the West Gym knew who would pull out the victory.
The game ended with a score of 109–43 for the home team.
Standout performers in this one were sophomore Graham Miller and freshman Wilfried Balata, who led all scorers with 19 and 15 points, respectively. Miller is returning from a season-long injury last year, and has looked like an integral part of the rotation for the Clan so far. He went 7–12 from the field in this one, and added in 11 rebounds, one block and two steals for a nice double-double in 26 minutes of play. Balata also had two steals, and got his 15 points in only 19 minutes on the court.
Vs. Capilano University
Saturday night provided a better contest against Capilano University, but once again, the Clan did as expected en route to a big win. Unlike the previous game, however, SFU got off to a tough start against their opponent, falling behind 15–7 early. The team quickly recovered, though, and went on a major run to end the half before taking a 49–37 lead into the break.
They continued this strong play into the second half, where they went on a 14–4 run to start the half. They eventually took the game by a score of 102–72.
Again, Balata had a strong outing, putting up 24 points and 13 rebounds in only 20 minutes of action. Furthermore, he went 7–15 from the field, 3–5 from three, and 7–8 from the FT line for an efficient line. When asked about Balata’s play so far this season, head coach Steve Hanson responded with:
“There is no doubt Wilfried has a bright future at SFU. He is physically ready for the NCAA and has shown very early what kind of impact he can have on the offensive and defensive ends.”
GNAC Season
While the pre-GNAC-season success has been nice, Hanson and the Clan know that the team still has a lot to prove. They will play against Western Oregon University on Thursday, November 29 and Concordia University on Saturday, December 1 in their opening GNAC road trip.
“Our first two GNAC games in Oregon will tell us a lot about where we are at. We play the #1 (WOU) and #11 (Concordia) from last season. Both programs are tough and have made a lot of changes to their roster, but we have high expectations and our guys want to win both. There is no better way to go into exams than being 2–0 in league and that is our goal,” said Hanson.
On what the team has to improve upon heading into the GNAC season, Hanson had this to say:
“Consistency. We have to be consistent defensively and be tough every night. We have so many players that can shoot, this will help on nights where others may not shoot it well. However, we need to be really tough defensively in case we have nights the ball doesn’t go in — that is key.”
