Simon Fraser University did the memory of Terry Fox proud, defeating Western Washington University 122-118 for the first time in 15 years on the night the Clan paid tribute to the Canadian hero.
Prior to the tip-off, the university honoured Fox by raising a banner with his name and retired uniform No. 4 to the West Gym rafters.
Fox was a student athlete at SFU in the mid-1970s and played junior varsity basketball for the Clan before losing his leg to bone cancer at the age of 18.
Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope in the spring of 1980 – a journey he would never finish – but which has inspired others and raised more than $600 million worldwide for cancer research.
“We got an emotional lift from the ceremony with the Fox family honouring Terry and a lot of energy from the crowd,” said SFU head coach James Blake in a Clan press release.
Sango Niang led the Clan with 29 points and seven assists, while Justin Cole and Roderick Evans-Taylor added 20 and 18 points, respectively, in the team’s Great Northwest conference season opener.
SFU, which came into the game averaging a conference-best 126.7 points per game, combined with WWU for a record 240 combined points, the most points ever in a single Great Northwest game.
SFU shot close to 57 per cent from the field, including 52.2 per cent from three-point land.
Western Washington had three players score more than 20 points, including career-highs of 27 points and 20 rebounds by Viking forward Anye Turner.
The 122 points was the most ever allowed by the Vikings in school history.
Earlier, red-shirt sophomore Hidde Vos came off the bench with six three-pointers in a 123-116 loss to Notre Dame de Namur at the Thanksgiving Classic tournament in Belmont, California.
Vos hit a pair of deep threes in the final two minutes, including a bomb with 1:35 to play that pulled the Clan to within two points of their hosts.
SFU led 61-58 at halftime.
