basketball: Men take 3 out of 4
Scott Wright, The Peak

Thanks to some timely offensive performances and a little defensive discipline, the SFU men's basketball team swept a two game set with the Trinity Western Spartans. They followed that performance with a split against the University of Victoria Vikings this past weekend.

They can't all be pretty. And the opening win against Trinity certainly wasn't. A road-weary Clan team, playing at home for the first time in almost two months, struggled early before pulling away late in the first half and holding on for the victory. Tied at 29 late in the first half, SFU closed the half on a 15-2 run to lead 44-31 at intermission.

The game proved to be a battle of attrition for SFU, as the resilient Spartans refused to go away. Trinity actually outscored the clan in the second half, but it wasn't enough as SFU held on for the 85-74 win. Brent Charleton was a force, offensively shooting an impressive 8-12 from the field for 23 points to go along with six rebounds. The Clan also received solid performances from Emmy Unaegbu and Jeremy Neufeld who contributed 14 and 13 points respectively.

The rematch provided little drama as the overmatched Spartans, try as they might, simply did not have the horses to run with the Clan. Like the first contest, the opening half was a close affair. SFU held a slim 48-44 advantage at the half. Jordan Mason opened the second half on a personal 8-0 run which was followed up by 6 more Clan points before Trinity even tickled the twine. With the Clan up 62-44 the game was essentially over.

Perhaps more important than the actual victories were the performances of Charleton and Mason. Charleton broke out of his three point shooting slump going 5-6 from behind the arc on his way to a career high 30 points and seven rebounds. Mason, who has struggled since the Christmas break, connected on 3 three pointers for a total of 13 points. SFU will need similar performances from these two if they are to have success the rest of the season.

In typical coach fashion, SFU bench boss, Scott Clark, was pleased to get two wins, but wasn't overjoyed. "We executed what we were supposed to for a small stretch, but we lacked discipline to continue in what we did," said Clark. "It was good to see Brent knock in his shots and same with Mason. Both those guys, once they hit a couple perimeter shots-it really loosened their interior defense up."

Things didn't get any easier for the Clan as they hopped on the ferry and headed over to the provincial capital to face the UVic Vikings. SFU, at the time ranked number eight nationally and leading the Pacific division of the Canada West conference, entered the match-up with an 11-3 mark in conference play while the Vikes' stood at 7-7.

Clark knew that UVic would be anything but pushovers. "Victoria is always a tough place to go into. They are just getting healthy so I'm not sure what to expect. But I know that it will be a big crowd and an exciting environment so we will have to play well."

The first game against UVic was a seesaw battle that turned into one of the Clan's most exciting games of the season. Tied at 80 after regulation, the score remained deadlocked through the first overtime session. In the second overtime period, SFU outscored the Vikes 15-10 for a 102-97 victory.

In a game filled with outstanding offensive performances, perhaps none were more impressive than the one turned in by third year shooting guard Mason. He connected on seven of his eight three point attempts en route to a 36 point performance. Charleton was no slouch either, providing 28 points and four assists to boost the Clan. Also of note was the outing of point guard Jeff Antwi. Antwi set a career high and Canada West season high with 15 assists.

It is a beautiful thing when an athlete enters the zone. "It was just one of those games. Everything I was throwing up was going in," joked Mason. "There were guys in my face but it was all going right. The more important thing though is that we were able to get a road win in a tough place."

Not surprisingly, in the rematch UVic focused much of their defensive attention towards Mason. With Victoria playing an assortment of zone defenses to try to contain Mason, shot opportunities were opened up for Charleton. He continued his hot shooting as he poured in 29 points and five assists. Mason was held to a respectable 13.

But it wasn't enough as the Clan fell 86-75. Trailing by only one at halftime, SFU could not keep up in the second half as they were outscored 45-35. A cause of concern for the Clan was their poor interior defense. Sandy Bisaro, UVic's starting center, dominated Clan defenders to the tune of 72 points in the two games.

While it would have been nice to get two wins in Victoria, Mason was satisfied with his team's play. "We have played better," he said. "We were good enough to get a tough win and weren't far off in the second game. We were hoping to get both, but we aren't overly disappointed."

Despite the loss SFU remains in first place in the pacific division with four games to play. With a number 10 national ranking, their conference record now stands at 12-4, good enough for a two game division lead. They host the University of Calgary and the University of British Columbia on successive weekends to close out the regular season.

Calgary sits at 5-11 and in the cellar of the central division of the Canada West conference. SFU defeated the Dinos twice last year in Calgary.

Despite the apparent mismatch Mason is not taking anything for granted. "They are an explosive offensive team who are very capable of beating any team," he warned. "It is important for us to take care of business on our home floor not only because it is our home, but also because we are guaranteed to win our division if we win the next four games."

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