Box Score

NAMPA, Idaho – Simon Fraser's Sango Niang lobbed the ball up and teammate Ibrahim Appiah leapt toward the basket.

A good pass, but Appiah couldn't handle it, and the ball bounced off his hands – right through the basket.

It was that kind of night for the Clan, which seemingly couldn't miss in a 98-73 win over host Northwest Nazarene in Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball at the Johnson Sports Center on Thursday night.

"I thought we were flat on both ends of the floor, both offensively and defensively, and I think that contributed to their shooting," NNU coach Dave Daniels said.

The Clan made their first 12 straight shots – which included seven 3-pointers – forging an early 31-16 lead with 7 minutes, 36 seconds gone in the game.

"I've never seen that happen before," Daniels said. "They had some challenged one's in there as well."

NNU (5-11 overall, 3-5 GNAC) tried to stay in the game as a Kevin Rima bucket made it 31-18 and a Derek Isaak 3-pointer made it 36-21, but the Clan (8-8, 1-7) simply refused to miss.

Simon Fraser hit 22-of-29 shots in the opening half – 75.9 percent – and knocked down 12-of-14 3-pointers, forging what proved to be an insurmountable 60-38 lead at the break.

NNU didn't shoot poorly either, hitting 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) from the field and 6-of-12 3-pointers, but it simply wasn't enough to keep pace with unstoppable SFU.

"We only had eight assists, we really didn't create for each other tonight, and I think that's just part of being flat," Daniels said. "That happens sometimes with a group of guys, especially with us being beat up and missing guys."

Try as the Crusaders might to get back in the game – an Isaak 3 early in the second half trimmed the difference to 64-45 – Simon Fraser simply refused to miss.

The Clan finished the night shooting 39-of-58 (67.2 percent) from the field and 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) from 3-point range.
Justin Cole led the attack with a game-high 28 points, hitting 6-of-7 triples for SFU.

Rima led NNU's effort with 19 points while Isaak added 18 and Mario Donaldson scored 12.

"Kevin was really solid, he just keeps improving and getting better," Daniels said of NNU's junior forward. "When we're getting him the ball in the right spot and he's patient, he's a tough player to guard.

"And I thought Isaak played really well again," NNU's coach added. "He definitely was a spark for us."

John Van Beuren also had a big game coming off the bench to finish with two points and a game-high 11 rebounds for NNU, which looks to rebound when it hosts Western Washington on Saturday night at 7.

"We just need to bounce back and play NNU basketball, which is energy and creating for each other, on Saturday," Daniel said.