The University of Manitoba men’s basketball team earned a sweep of the MacEwan University Griffins over the weekend.

The Bisons improved their record to 5-1 and sit in fourth place in the Canada West.

Friday

James Wagner took the reins Friday, scoring 31 points and pulling in eight rebounds in the 80-75 defeat of the Griffins. A back-and-forth first quarter had the Bisons leading by 21-19 early. A late-half three pointer from the Griffins clipped the Bisons lead but Manitoba remained ahead by a slim 34-33 at the half.

MacEwan stormed out of the halftime break going on an 8-0 run to start the third quarter. Manitoba answered back with their own run, posting a 12-0 streak to regain the lead. MacEwan then hit a three-pointer but a dunk by Wagner started off an 8-0 Bisons run to end the quarter with Manitoba up 58-49.

The Griffins rallied in the final quarter to give the Bisons a bit of a scare, but a Wagner jumper with the score knotted at 75 and a minute left helped push Manitoba to a victory.

Saturday

On Saturday the Bisons established their dominance in a 74-55 win to complete the sweep. It was Justus Alleyn who led the way for Manitoba, scoring 27 points, two rebounds, and four assists. Alleyn is now averaging 22.8 points per game, placing him third in the Canada West. Wagner is not far behind in seventh, averaging 20.2.

The first quarter was relatively close, but the Bisons held a 17-13 lead after 10 minutes of play. Manitoba pulled away in the second quarter, scoring 25 points to lead the Griffins 42-27.

Manitoba outscored MacEwan 13-8 in the third quarter and laid off the gas a bit in the fourth quarter, with the Griffins actually outscoring the Bisons 20-19.

 

The Bisons will head out to Calgary to play the Mount Royal University Cougars on Nov. 17-18. The Cougars are 2-4 on the year