The Bisons men’s basketball team lost 97-85 to the Victoria Vikes in the Canada West championship bronze medal game on Friday, March 7 in British Columbia.
The Bisons opened the scoring with a three-point jump shot by Mason Kraus, assisted by Tito Obasoto, at 9:32 in the first quarter. Renoldo Robinson made a layup for the Vikes at 9:17, bringing the score to 3-2.
At the 7:13 mark, Brandt Lenz made a three-point jump shot, assisted by Kraus, to give the Bisons a 10-5 lead. Daren Watts then made a layup at 4:59, assisted by Cieran O’Hara, pushing the Bisons ahead 16-10.
Lenz made a layup at 4:11, extending the Bisons advantage to 21-12. Manyang Tong made two free throws at 2:12, giving the Bisons a 26-19 lead. Tong followed up with a layup at 1:40, increasing the Bisons lead to 28-22.
At the 0:03 mark, Kraus sealed the quarter with two free throws, giving the Bisons a 30-25 advantage.
At 9:36 in the second quarter, Lenz made a layup to extend the Bisons lead to 32-25. Kraus made two free throws at 8:25, pushing the Bisons ahead 37-30.
O’Hara added a free throw at 6:26, giving the Bisons a 40-38 advantage. Aaron Tesfagiorgis made a three-point jump shot at 5:31, giving the Vikes a 41-40 lead. At 4:51, Watts made a layup to give the Bisons a 44-42 advantage.
The Vikes reclaimed a 48-46 lead at 3:47, but Watts tied the game 48-48 with a jump shot at 3:36.
Also, at 2:57, Watts made a layup to give the Bisons a 50-48 lead, but Sam Maillet made a jump shot at 2:36 to level the game at 50-50.
Ryan Gallager gave the Vikes a 54-52 lead with a layup at 1:31, but Obasoto made two free throws at 1:04 to tie the game 54-54. Tong made a layup at 0:21, putting the Bisons ahead 56-54.
In the third quarter, Lenz made a three-point jump shot at 7:33, assisted by Kraus, giving the Bisons a 61-59 lead. At 6:24, the Vikes tied the game 61-61 and took a 63-61 lead at 5:33.
Obasoto then made a layup at 5:22 to tie the game 63-63. At 3:21, Obasoto made a three-point jump shot, assisted by Watts, bringing the score to 69-66 for the Vikes.
Again, Obasoto made a layup at 1:41, making the score 75-68 for the Vikes.
The Vikes closed the quarter with a 77-68 lead after Maillet made a layup at 1:18.
In the fourth quarter, Lenz made a layup at 9:45, bringing the score to 77-70 for the Vikes. Obasoto made a layup at 9:14, assisted by Kraus, cutting the lead to 77-72. At 5:03, O’Hara made a layup, assisted by Lenz, narrowing the gap to 78-77.
The Vikes extended their lead to 90-81 at 1:36 when Maillet made a layup. With 0:32 remaining, the Vikes led 95-84, but Kraus made a free throw at 0:27, bringing the score to 95-85. Shadynn Smid sealed the game with a dunk at 0:18, giving the Vikes a 97-85 victory.
