BURNABY, B.C. — The Central Washington University (7-5, 0-4 GNAC) men's basketball team fell to Simon Fraser University (10-3, 3-1 GNAC), 75-57.

The Wildcats kept it close at halftime, trailing 34-33, but the Clan found a rhythm in the second half and were able to pick up the victory.

"We didn't come out ready to compete tonight," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said.  "We found it half way through the first half and got ourselves back into the game.  We just didn't sustain it deep in the the second half.  Simon Fraser is the best rebounding team in the league and we didn't do a good enough job limiting their second chances."

Simon Fraser opened on a 12-4, but baskets from Matt Poquette and Jeryn Lucas, as well as a pair of free throws from Xavier Smith, cut the Clan's early lead to just 14-11.  The Clan then outscored the Wildcats 8-2 over the next 1o points, pushing their advantage to 22-13.  They reached their first double-digit lead of the night on their next basket, 24-13.

Central cut the deficit to five, but Simon Fraser pushed it back to nine with just under four minutes to play in the first half.  A layup from Davon Bolton, followed by a three from Smith, cut the Clan's advantage to just four.  Kevin Baker followed with a layup of his own and the Wildcats were back within two, 32-30.  A free throw from SFU's Matt Kiatipis made it 33-30, before a try from Baker leveled the score at 33 all.

Both Simon Fraser and Central Washington missed on their final possession of the half, but the Clan knocked down one free throw with 30 seconds left to go ahead 34-33 at the half.

Four minutes into the second half, the game was still tightly contested.  The Wildcats worked back from the deficit, tying the game at 39-39.  Simon Fraser went on a 10-0 run, put the Clan ahead 49-39 with 12:41 left in regulation.  

A layup from Marcus Gilson put an end to the Wildcats' offensive drought.  On the Clan's next possession, Tariq Woody forced a turnover and Gilson buried another layup.  Woody wasn't done, however, as he blocked the next shot taken by Michael Provenzano.  Lucas recovered the rebound and drained a trey, pulling CWU within three at 49-46.  Micah Pollard picked up the defensive board, after another miss from Provenzano, and found Gilson on a fast break for the layup.  The Wildcats pulled back to a one-point contest, 49-48.

Immediately after Central's run to make it a one-point game, Simon Fraser rattled off 15 unanswered points for a 64-48 advantage with 6:02 to play.  Central cut the deficit to a dozen, but did not find a way to force overtime.  

The Wildcats struggled offensively in the second half, shooting just 30.77 percent from the floor.  They finished at 38.2 percent after shooting 44.83 percent in the first half.  Baker finished with a team high 13 points, while Smith recorded 11.  Central's bench chipped in 20 points.  The Crimson and Black scored 21 points off of turnovers and 32 points in the paint.

Central Washington is back in action on Tuesday (Jan. 7) as they travel to Northwest Nazarene for a GNAC contest.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT in Nampa, Idaho.