BURNABY, B.C. – The Humboldt State men's basketball team watched its nine-point halftime lead vanish as Simon Fraser rallied to deal the Green and Gold a 73-72 loss Friday night in the West Gym.

"Simon Fraser did a great job keeping poised when we had them down significant points tonight," said HSU Head Coach Steve Kinder. "We didn't sustain a 40-minute effort on the defensive end of the basketball floor."

The Lumberjacks moved to 1-1 overall.

HSU trailed early, but 3-pointers from Jackson Strong and Kameron Curl kept the Green and Gold in the game. A Calvin Young II dunk off a feed from Curl with 13:03 on the clock started a run that put the North Coast team ahead by six, 22-16, after back-to-back-to-back 3s from Victor Mijas, Curl and Strong. The Jacks held its lead for the remainder of the half and shot 46.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from outside the arc. HSU's lead grew to a game-high 11 points with 31 seconds to go following a Romario Wilson layup, but it held a nine point edge, 42-33, at intermission.

Wilfried Balata and the Clan got to work chipping away at the HSU lead with a sense of urgency. Balata, who played just nine minutes and scored five points in the first half, was the leader of Simon Fraser's rally. The freshman finished the game with 22 points, 17 of which he scored after the break. Balata splashed a 3-pointer with 13:54 to go to make it a one possession game, 50-47, but it wasn't until the final three minutes of play that the Clan retook the lead. Consecutive long-range baskets from Balata put Simon Fraser ahead 66-65, and the teams traded the lead once more with the home team moving ahead for good with a layup with 1:46 remaining.

The Jacks struggled in the second half shooting 29.7 percent from the field and going cold from outside the arc hitting just 3-of-15 attempts. Simon Fraser, on the other hand, connected on 48.1 percent of its field goals in the final 20 minutes.

Strong led Green and Gold scorers with 15 points and was 5-of-12 shooting from outside the arc. LJ Williams (10), Young (10) and Curl (14) also recorded double-digit scoring totals. Young also finished the game with a team-leading seven boards.

"Playing on the road against a near capacity crown was a great experience for our Lumberjacks," said Kinder. "We will learn from this game.  We will refocus and prepare for a short turnaround time and play a very good Western Washington team tomorrow."

HSU returns to action Saturday versus Western Washington. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.