Big games by juniors Justin Cole and Sango Niang helped lead Simon Fraser University to its first men’s basketball conference win this season.
Cole scored a game-high 28 points, while Niang netted 24 points in SFU’s 98-73 road win over Northwest Nazarene on Jan. 23.
Senior Dillon Hamilton came off the bench to chip in with 14 points, including three from beyond the arc. Taylor Dunn added a dozen points to the Clan scoreline.
“We were due for a good shooting night. I’m proud of how we shared the ball and made the extra pass,” said SFU head coach James Blake in a Clan press release.
Cole set the tempo for the Clan, nailing a pair of back-to-back threes just two minutes into the game, and 11 points in total to put SFU up 16-2 after four minutes of play.
Hamilton’s three treys came just two minutes apart at one stage of the second half, helping the Clan lead 60-38 at half time.
The scoreline was the largest margin ever against a Great Northwest conference opponent since the Clan began play in the NCAA Division II in 2010.
On Saturday, SFU were back in the loss column, falling 96-79 to Central Washington.
Niang had another big night, scoring 22 points, while David Gebru matched his Clan teammate also with 22 points.
Trailing 50-35 at the half, SFU opened the second half with a 14-6 run and then staged a mini 7-0 rally to pull within a single point with less than 10 minutes left to play.
The loss dropped SFU to 1-8 and in last place in the conference.
