Brown, the Clan’s speedy point guard, scored a game-high 35 points, including a half-court shot at the buzzer to give visiting Simon Fraser an 88-85 victory over Saint Martin’s University in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Thursday at Marcus Pavilion.
“We just couldn’t stop him the entire game,” Saint Martin’s coach Keith Cooper said. “It’s no wonder he made that shot at the end.”
The last-second heave seemed unlikely with a minute to play and the Clan holding a nine-point lead.
But the Saints got back-to-back 3-pointers from Ryan Votaw in a span of 11 seconds to tie the game at 88 with 4 seconds to go.
That was all the time Brown needed.
“Brown’s dribble penetration killed us,” Cooper said. “Defensively, we didn’t make shops. We made too many mental mistakes, committed too many fouls, and in the end, it cost us.”
It was the fourth consecutive loss for Saint Martin’s (8-13 overall, 4-8 GNAC).
Simon Fraser ( 7-12, 2-9) had lost seven of its previous eight games.
Brok Pendleton and Jeremy Green scored 26 and 25 points, respectively, for the Saints, and teammate Roger O’Neill scored 15.
Simon Fraser suited up just seven players and lost Jordan Sergent, who had 21 points, and Chris Evans to fouls in the final 2 minutes.
SMU won the first meeting against the Clan, 90-68, in Burnaby, B.C., outscoring Simon Fraser 50-35 in the second half.
This time, it was the Clan who turned a slight halftime advantage into a double-digit lead.
Simon Fraser took a 72-62 lead on a Brown layup with 51/2 minutes remaining before the Saints cut the deficit to 72-68 on a pair of Green free throws.
John Bantook made a 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining to push the lead to 80-71 before the Saints rallied late.
The Saints erased an early six-point deficit with a 10-0 run to take a 22-18 advantage 8 minutes before halftime.
Green turned the ball over during SMU’s first possession and missed two of his first three shots before eight straight shots to close the first half with 16 points.
Brown was equally productive in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 13 points to help the Clan to a slim 38-37 halftime lead.
The Saints held a 37-32 rebounding edge, but they misfired from 3-point range (3-for-18 accuracy).
The Saints return to the court at 7 p.m. Saturday when they play host to GNAC-leading Western Washington University.
The Vikings knocked off Saint Martin’s, 76-71, in Bellingham on Jan. 5. Green scored a game-high 23 points in the loss, and Pendleton had 21 points and six steals.
