Television: DirecTV channel 687 and Dish Network channel 426.
ROOT SPORTS NW: Check local listings for channel in your area.
PORTLAND, Ore. – The seventh game of the 2013-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Game of the Week series on ROOT SPORTS is set for Wednesday, as the Simon Fraser men’s basketball team travels to Monmouth, Ore., to challenge Western Oregon at 7 p.m. Pacific time.
The last time the two teams met, Western Oregon picked up an 87-83 victory over Simon Fraser on Dec. 7, 2013 in Burnaby, B.C. Wednesday’s primetime matchup will be the final men’s game of the ROOT SPORTS series, as Saturday’s women’s game between Simon Fraser and Western Washington in Bellingham will serve as the Game of the Week finale.
On Wednesday, Bob Akamian will provide the play-by-play, with Dave Harshman adding color commentary on the ROOT SPORTS broadcast. The game can also be viewed on Dish Network channel 426 and DirecTV channel 687, and check the ROOT SPORTS Northwest local listings for the channel number in your area.
Simon Fraser University
Coach: James Blake, 4th season
Record: 10-14, 3-13 GNAC (10th)
Home: 8-7
Away: 2-7
Neutral: 0-0
Current Streak: L1
All-Time vs. WOU: 10-15
Simon Fraser has shown potential to compete with the top teams in the GNAC this season, enduring ups and downs and playing well at home (8-7) this season. Most recently, SFU earned a 112-99 win over visiting Central Washington, avenging an earlier 96-79 loss to the Wildcats on Jan. 25 in Ellensburg. Despite logging just three conference victories, SFU has come up just short in several games. Most notably, the Clan suffered one-point losses to Alaska Anchorage (65-64 on Jan. 30) and Western Washington (84-83 on Feb. 8), and have lost a total of five games by single digits. Currently, SFU has won one of its last five contests.
Carrying the bulk of the scoring duties for SFU has been junior guard Sango Niang, who is averaging a team-high and conference eighth-best 16.1 points per game this season. Niang also ranks third in the GNAC in assists per game with 5.7 (125 total), has contributed 25 steals and is shooting 52.7 percent from the floor this season. Justin Cole (13.7), Taylor Dunn (12.5), and David Gebru (12.0) are SFU’s other double figure scorers in 2013-14. Cole ranks second on the team in assists with 48, while pacing the squad with 40 steals during his junior campaign. Dunn, a senior guard, is shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and 38.8 percent from beyond the arc. Gebru has provided size for SFU with an average of 4.3 rebounds per contest, and he leads the team with 23 blocks on the season. Ibrahim Appiah is another key contributor for SFU, as he is averaging 8.8 points and a GNAC sixth-best 7.5 rebounds per contest.
As a team, SFU ranks eighth in the GNAC in scoring margin at minus-1.7. The Clan score a GNAC fourth-best 79.2 points per game, but allow opponents 80.9 per contest. SFU shoots well from the floor, checking in at No. 4 in the GNAC in field goal percentage at 47.9. From long range, SFU ranks No. 3 in the GNAC at 38.4 percent. SFU has had difficulty rebounding, with a margin of minus-2.4, but is averaging the fourth-most assists per game in the conference at 15.2. The Clan also creates steals at a solid clip of 7.1 per game, leading to a turnover margin of plus-1.29.
Probable Starters
*Taylor Dunn (G, 6-4, Sr., Vancouver, WA – Clackamas CC)
*Ibrahim Appiah (F, 6-6, Sr., Montreal, QC – Champlain)
*David Gebru (F, 6-9, Sr., Seattle, WA – Western Illinois University)
*Sango Niang (G, 6-0, Jr., Paris, France – Chaffey CC)
*Justin Cole (G, 6-3, Jr., Los Angeles, CA – Chaffey CC)
2013-14 Red Lion Players of the Week
Week of Feb. 17-23: Sango Niang had 63 oints and 21 assists in Thursday’s 112-99 win against Central Washington, scoring the second most points in GNAC history in a game in which the player also had at least 10 assists. He followed that up with a 27-point, 10-assist performance in Saturday’s 98-90 loss to Northwest Nazarene. Niang made 19-of-29 field goal attempts and was perfect (20-of-20) from the foul line. His double-digit assist games were his first two of the season.
Western Oregon University
Coach: Brady Bergeson, 3rd season
Record: 15-11, 8-8 GNAC (T-5th)
Home: 9-4
Away: 4-6
Neutral: 2-1
Current Streak: L1
All-Time vs. SFU: 15-10
Coming off a split road trip to Alaska last weekend, Western Oregon has won three of its last four games to move back into contention for a postseason spot. Also facing Western Washington this week, a win in either of Wednesday’s or Saturday’s games would punch the Wolves’ ticket to the GNAC Championships. Most recently, WOU suffered a 96-77 setback against Alaska Anchorage on Saturday, after defeating Alaska Fairbanks 71-70 on a last-second 3-pointer by Jordan Wiley.
Leading the Wolves offensively are Rodney Webster, Andy Avgi, and Marwan Sarhan. Webster tops the team with 14.4 points per game, and his 71 assists and 42 steals are both second-most on the squad. Avgi nets 12.9 points per game, and has been WOU’s main presence underneath with a team-high 5.4 rebounds per contest. Sarhan is close behind Avgi in terms of rebounding, as the Egyptian junior is averaging 4.8 rebounds per contest and has contributed 15 blocks and 20 steals on the season as well. Devon Alexander and Wiley have played critical roles for WOU, with the former pacing the squad in steals (55) and assists (77) to go along with his 9.7 points per game. Wiley is averaging 8.5 points per contest, and paces the team from the foul line with a free-throw percentage of 80.0. Wiley’s 34 assists and 27.2 minutes per game are each third-most on the team, and Adam Hastings has helped WOU with his size as he averages 5.0 rebounds per game.
Defensively, WOU allows a conference fifth-best 75.7 points per game, and holds a scoring margin of plus-0.3. The Wolves defend shots from the floor well, holding opponents to a field goal percentage of 45.1, and rank No. 3 in the GNAC in blocked shots with 2.7 per game (71 total). WOU allows a conference-high 35.6 rebounds per game, and holds a rebounding margin of minus-1.5. No GNAC team generates more steals than WOU, which averages 9.2 per contest (240 total) and has 37 more than the next closest team (Alaska Fairbanks, 203). The solid defense has led to a GNAC third-best turnover margin of plus-3.04.
Probable Starters
*Lewis Thomas (F, 6-8, Jr., Perth, Australia – UC Santa Barbara)
*Andy Avgi (F, 6-6, So., Woodburn, OR – Woodburn)
*Devon Alexander (G, 6-1, So., Fontana, CA – Summit)
*Drew Johnson (G, 5-10, Sr., Gresham, OR – Mt. Hood CC)
*Jordan Wiley (G, 6-6, So., McKenzie River, OR – McKenzie)
2013-14 Red Lion Players of the Week
Week of Dec. 16-22: Rodney Webster came off the bench to lead the Wolves in scoring (35), assists (9) and steals (5) as WOU ran its win streak to four games with a pair of victories, including an 84-76 regional counting-win over South Dakota Mines. Webster also had eight rebounds, the third-most on the team, and shot 56 percent from the field (14-of-25) including 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. He also had one of WOU’s two blocks as the Wolves evened their regional record at 4-4.
