Bisons lose home opener in overtime
What’s ahead for the Bisons men’s basketball team in 05-06
Sheri Lamb, Staff
Photo by David Lipnowski.
In a division where parity rules, the U of M Bisons aren’t letting a couple of losses to cross-town rival U of W Wesmen cause them to lose any sleep.
The Bisons kicked off the 2005-06 Canada West basketball season on Thursday, Oct. 27 with a 69-67 loss to the Wesmen at the Duckworth Centre. Down by as much as 13, the Bisons crept back but couldn’t finish the comeback.
Two nights later, at the Investor’s Group Athletic Centre, the Bisons saw their lead evaporate as the Wesmen tied the game in the dying seconds of regulation time. The Wesmen dominated in overtime, outscoring the Bisons 18-9, for the 92-83 win.
Bisons’ first-year coach, Minich Nowrang, said the Wesmen didn’t give up when they were down and his team couldn’t recover after giving up the lead.
“We were up by three with 10 seconds left and the Wesmen’s Matt Opalko hit an unbelievable shot to tie it and really took the wind out of our sails a bit,” said Nowrang.
“They played tough in the overtime as well, and we just didn’t execute.”
Five Bison players scored in double digits in Saturday’s loss.
A 0-2 start wasn’t how Nowrang wanted his first season at the university level to begin, but in the Great Plains division over the past few years, besides Brandon, it has gone down to the wire with who makes the playoffs.
The competitiveness among the Bisons, Wesmen and U of R Cougars comes from how poorly the teams have played. The Bisons finished last season with a 3-17 record, nearly scraping into the playoffs.
“There’s a lot of parity in terms of these teams, because we’re all at similar stages in terms of having a lot of young players, a lot of local talent, and the kids in all the programs are learning how to play together,” said Nowrang.
With return of former Bison forward Jon Lundgren and the maturity of second-year players Tarik Tokar and Myron Dean, Nowrang believes the team can regroup from the opening weekend losses and make the playoffs.
“I really think with this group of guys and their focus, that’s definitely in our future,” said the former Glenlawn Collegiate head coach.
Lundgren began his career with the Bisons before moving on to Trinity Western for a few years. After sitting out last season, Lundgren is closing out his university basketball career in his hometown.
“I was glad to get him; he’s very passionate about the game and he’s learning how to be a coach as well,” said Nowrang about his captain. “He brings a good mindset to the floor.”
With a year of university ball under their belts, Tokar and Dean will be expected to take on more responsibility this year with the team.
“Myron Dean is starting to become more of a presence on the inside — he’s only about 6’5” but his arms make him almost seven feet it seems,” said Nowrang.
Note: Nowrang is coaching the Bisons on what is termed an interim basis this season, as Rick Suffield is on a leave of absence from his duties at the U of M.
