As the Simon Fraser University Clan men’s basketball team launches its first-ever foray into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships, they’ll have an All-Conference all-star on their side.
The GNAC announced its All-Conference team this week in preparation for Thursday’s opening of the championship series in Bellingham, Wash. Making the grade as a second team selection was SFU centre Julian Roche.
The Saint John, NB native averaged 13.4 points over 19 conference games as a sophomore transfer from Div. 1 Santa Clara University. The six-foot-one forward was a major reason why SFU caught fire to post a 15-13 overall record and advance for the first time to the conference playoffs.
Roche provided an impact on both sides of the ball, standing second on the team in total rebounds with 129 boards. He led the team in blocks, with 18, and held the highest field goal percentage, at .556 successful shooting efficiency.
In the team’s final game before the playoffs, sophomore forward Jasdeep Singh and freshman Wilfried Balata shared the lead with 13 points apiece in the squad’s 68-56 loss to Western Oregon.
They open up against Northwest Nazarene today (Thursday) in the quarterfinals.
