BURNABY, BC – In a game that featured 18 lead changes and 8 tie scores, it was bound to come down to a one possession game, and Simon Fraser University used a couple of late 3-pointers to seal its 76-73 victory over Western Washington University in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game in West Gym.

WWU led by as many as 9 points midway through the second half, and had a 3-point lead at 68-65 at the 2:27 mark following a 3-pointer by senior guard Tyler Payne. The Clan then hit back-to-back 3-pointers, with Othniel Spence's fadeaway chance at the 1:18 mark giving SFU the lead for good. The Vikings climbed to within one point following five consecutive points by Payne, and had a chance to tie the game when WWU leading scorer Trevor Jasinsky missed a layup with 10 seconds remaining. Payne's last-second 3-pointer to tie the game rimmed out giving SFU the three-point victory.

WWU had its two-game winning streak snapped, playing for the third time in six days after returning Sunday from its road trip to Alaska. The Vikings are now 14-14 overall and in a tie for 7^th place in the GNAC standings at 8-10. Simon Fraser won for the sixth time in the last seven games to improve to 15-11 overall and 9-9 in conference play, fifth place in the standings.

Payne (Long Beach, CA/Cerritos College) scored all of his career-high 20 points in the second half, including scoring the Vikings last 11 points. He was 6-for-13 from the field, and 4-for-7 from long distance, and also contributed a game-high 4 assists. 

Junior forward KJ Bosco (Portland, OR/Portland CC) also totaled a career-high with 15 points, scoring all but one of his points in the first half. Bosco was 5-for-7 from the field, had 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. 

Jasinsky was held to 12 points on 3-for-9 shooting and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He grabbed a team-high 7 assist while playing 37 minutes.

SFU sophomore guard Jasdeep Singh scored a career-high 31 points on 12-for-18 shooting and 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Singh scored 17 second-half points, including 10 over the last six minutes of the game. Singh led four SFU players in double-figure scoring, with Wilfried Balata (13 points), Michael Provenzano (12 points) and Othniel Spence (11 points) contributing 10 or more points. SFU played without leading scorer Julian Roche (14.2 points/game, 6.9 rebounds/game) after he sprained an ankle in SFU's overtime victory at Alaska Anchorage on Saturday.

The Vikings built a 9-point lead at 52-43 with 11:02 remaining in the game. SFU chipped away at the deficit going on an 8-2 run to trail by three points at 54-51 and then used another 8-2 run to pull ahead 61-60 at the 5:13 mark. SFU finished the game on an 11-5 run to secure the three-point victory.

The Vikings and Clan battled through eight lead changes in the first half, with the Clan holding a 36-34 lead after the first 20 minutes of action. SFU got off to a hot start scoring the first seven points of the game, and led 9-2 before the Vikings went on a 7-0 run to tie the contest 9-9. WWU took its first lead at 17-16 at the 11:06 mark, the first of the eight lead changes. SFU built its lead back up to 6 points at 27-21, with the Vikings answering again with a 7-2 run. KJ Bosco equaled his career-high for a game in the first half with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting, as the Vikings were overall at 40.7% (11-for-27) for the half. Jasdeep Singh led SFU with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting, and was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.

The Vikings shot 44.7% (21-for-47) and were 7-for-23 from 3-point range (30.4%)…SFU held a 32-30 advantage in rebounds and out-scored the Vikings 32-26 in the paint…WWU scored 22 points off turnovers and received 27 points from the bench…SFU led for 20:48, WWU led for 15:27 (all in the second half) and the game was tied for 3:45…the game featured 18 lead changes and 8 tie scores…WWU was 24-for-28 from the free throw line…Trevor Jasinsky has scored in double-digits in 26 of 28 games this season…Tyler Payne's previous career high was 18 points set vs. Minnesota State Moorhead on Nov. 16, 2018 in West Gym as Part of the SFU Showdown…the Vikings completed a grueling 4-game road trip to Montana, Alaska and Canada over a 10-day span with a 2-2 record.

Tuesday's game was a makeup game from the Feb. 12 contest that was postponed due to snow/weather between Bellingham and Burnaby.

The Vikings (14-14, 8-10 GNAC) conclude the 2018-19 regular season this weekend returning to Carver Gym to host Western Oregon on Thursday (Feb. 28) and Concordia on Saturday (March 2), with both games tipping off at 7 pm on WECU Court. Tickets are available to purchase in advance for the home games by visitingWWUVikings.com/Tickets.

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through Tuesday's games, with the Vikings currently tied for 7^thplace in the conference standings heading into the final two regular-season games of the season.

Here are the scores from the four additional GNAC games played across the conference footprint on Tuesday:

WWU will serve as the host for the 2019 GNAC Basketball Championships, with the top six teams in both the men's and women's conference standings at the end of the season qualifying for the tournament that will be held March 7-9 on WECU Court in Carver Gym. Tickets are now on sale for the GNAC Basketball Championships via GNACHoopTickets.com.

Fans can follow the men's basketball team online at WWUVikings.com/MBB, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUHoops) and Facebook (@WWUmensbball).

One of the premier basketball programs in NCAA Division II, WWU has recorded a 20-win season in eight of the last 10 seasons. WWU is a six-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion and has appeared in the NCAA II Elite 8 three times. The Vikings won the 2011-12 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced the following season to the NCAA II Final Four. Western has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons, including a 25-6 record in 2016-17 where it won the GNAC regular season and conference championships title, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships as the No. 3 seed in the West Region. The program recently completed its 116^th season posting a 21-8 record in 2017-18, and have combined for 1,492 victories and a .591 winning percentage in program history. 

-- @WWUHoops --