November 23 - Earlier in the week Simon Fraser University Clan head coach Scott Clark told Clan leading scorer Greg Wallis (Victoria, B.C.) he needed to be more consistent with his play. On Friday night Wallis responding, firing a sniper like 8-for-11 from the field, to lead SFU to a 67-62 victory over the University of Manitoba Bisons. The Clan improve to 4-5 with the victory, while the Bisons remain winless in the Canada West at 0-7.

Wallis finished the night with a game high 22 points, scoring 12 in the second half to lead Simon Fraser over the tenacious Bisons. Both teams shot below 40 per cent on the evening, while Manitoba struggled from beyond the three-point line, shooting a porous 4-for-27 from the three-point arc.

While at times the game denigrated to a snail like pace as both teams struggled to find their offence, the Clan needed to fight off a late surge by Manitoba to hold on for the victory. Fourth year Bison guard Isaac Ansah (Winnipeg, MB) took his team on his shoulders late, first drawing a foul from Kevin Shaw (North Vancouver, B.C.) while taking a three-pointer and hitting two-of-three free throws to close the Clan lead to three points (63-60) with under a minute to play, then making a quick read and driving coast-to-coast to cut the gap to two (64-62) only seconds later.

At that point rookie Greg Gillies (Nanaimo, B.C.) made his biggest plays as a member of the Clan, stroking three-of-four free throws, including the final two Clan points, to stave off the Bisons rally to win 67-62.

The first half was marred by physical play, as SFU’s Nolan Holmes (North Vancouver, B.C.) and Manitoba’s Myron Dean (Winnipeg, MB) were continually jawing and fouling each other at both ends of the court. Dean eventually fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, while Holmes played with four fouls for most of the second half.

The first quarter was low scoring, both teams struggled to find their shots and SFU held a slim 12-10 lead at the first break. Threes by Sean Burke (North Vancouver, B.C.) and Jordan Nostedt (Brandon, MB) to start the second allowed the Clan to open the biggest lead of the night (18-10) just one minute into the period. The Bisons retook the lead with in the final minute of the second on a free throw by Dan Purvis-Collins, however Shaw potted a layup and Holmes added a free throw to put the Clan up 32-30 at halftime.

The lead changed three times in the third quarter; however SFU retook the lead on a three-pointer from Burke to close out the quarter with a two-point advantage 51-49.

Wallis finished the night with a double-double, adding 12 rebounds to his 22 points. Holmes also netted a double-double for the Clan, scoring ten while adding 12 boards. Burke reached double figures as well, scoring 11, while the Clan out rebounded Manitoba 43-to-38.

For the Bisons, Ansah finished with a team high 16 points, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Darcy Coss scored 15 points despite shooting 3-for-13 from three-point range. Dean added 14 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

The Clan will host the Winnipeg Wesmen on Saturday (5 pm – Clan Radio), while the Bisons travel to Langley to face the TWU Spartans.

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