A perfect 2-0 week puts the spotlight right where Simon Fraser University wants it.
The SFU men’s basketball team, fresh off a strong run that saw them beat Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene last week, now sit sixth in the conference – with the top six teams qualifying for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships.
To keep hold of that position SFU needs to continue that current pace -- but they'll have to take a snow day on Tuesday with the postponement of their tilt against Western Washington.
"We have to stay the course as we haven't accomplished anything yet, but we are certainly excited about our upcoming games and the opportunities that lie ahead," SFU coach Steve Hanson said. "We have to continue to focus on one game at a time with Western Washington at our house Tuesday followed by Montana State Billings on the road."
Last week’s accomplishments were considerable. It began with a one-point win over second place Northwest Nazarene, where a 13-point lead in the third quarter was slowly trimmed by the Nighthawks, only to have Wilfried Balata nail it shut with a free throw with 22 seconds remaining. Nazarene would force the issue and cash in a layup but miss on a late three-pointer.
Jasdeep Singh counted a team-high 17 points and six rebounds, while Julian Roche and Balata chipped in 14 points apiece.
Two days later, the Clan got 25 points from Singh in an 82-66 clobbering of Central Washington.
"We are starting to gel as a team and play for each other on both ends of the court," said Hanson. "It has been fun to watch our guys figure it out and gain confidence with some tough wins. Because Julian (Roche) and Jasdeep (Singh) have been so efficient inside, our guards are benefiting from the double-teaming we are seeing each night."
SFU heads on the road to play Montana State-Billings, University of Alaska and University of Alaska-Anchorage before returning Feb. 26 to face Western Washington in their rescheduled game on Burnaby Mountain.
