The Bisons men’s basketball team lost 75-73 to the University of Calgary Dinos on Friday, Nov. 28 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.
The Dinos won the first quarter 22-21, but the Bisons responded with a strong second quarter, outscoring the Dinos 23-12. The Dinos regained control in the third quarter with a 22-19 advantage and sealed the win by taking the fourth quarter 19-10.
In the second game on Saturday, Nov. 29, the Bisons recorded a 66-59 victory against the Dinos.
Aidan Smith opened the scoring for the Dinos with a three-point jump shot at 9:26 in the first quarter. Eli Djordjevic followed with a dunk at 8:37 to give the Dinos a 5-0 lead. The Bisons got on the scoreboard at 8:18 when Daren Watts hit a three-point jump shot, assisted by Tito Obasoto, to cut the lead to 5-3. Daniel Chijioke made a free throw at 3:43 to extend the Dinos’ lead to 16-10. Brandt Lenz made a three-point jump shot for the Bisons at 0:12, reducing the deficit to 22-18.
At 7:10 in the second quarter, Watts hit another three-pointer for the Bisons, assisted by Obasoto, to tie the game 24-24. Ramogi Nyagudi then made a three-point jump shot at 3:32, assisted by Lenz, to give the Bisons a 30-24 lead. Nyagudi added another three-point jump shot at 1:17, assisted by Watts, as the Bisons took a 37-27 lead into halftime.
Cieran O’Hara made a free throw at 3:49 in the third quarter, assisted by Lenz, to widen the Bisons’ lead to 49-27. Lenz made a three-point jump shot at 1:45, assisted by Jonam Kazadi, to give the Bisons a 52-35 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, Lenz made a jump shot at 4:07 to bring the score to 50-58. Watts made two free throws at 0:17 to keep the Bisons ahead, 65-59. Lenz added a free throw at 0:11 to seal the Bisons’ 66-59 win.
Bisons men’s basketball head coach Kirby Schepp assessed the game and noted that the opponent made it a tough one. “Calgary came in and kept fighting all the way,” said Schepp. “I thought our defence was really good for long stretches […] Then, Calgary started finding their rhythm and we lost our rhythm a little bit. [I’m] just happy we reclaimed it and got a couple of key buckets late when it mattered. But, yeah, it was a tough one for sure.”
“There’s always work to be done,” said Schepp in preparation for the next game. “We’re definitely going to go back and try to figure some stuff out to clean up some things offensively, I think. But we’ve still got a big [game] next week against Winnipeg to finish it off,” he added.
Schepp indicated the upcoming game against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen will be a big one. “It’s always big, I mean, it’s an intense rivalry and those games always mean more than other games. We’ll certainly be locked in and [the] University of Winnipeg is one of the top teams in the country, so it’ll be a great test for us.”
Bisons guard Watts noted he was excited for the win. “I was just glad that we were able to bounce back. I feel like we really brought it together. And this time we were able to fight against the run they had.”
He praised his teammates for creating the opportunities that allowed him to score in the game. “I feel good, but it’s really just all because of my teammates. They’re the ones that are passing me the ball. They’re the ones that are setting me up on those screens […] When they get buckets, it’s usually someone that’s setting them up. So, it’s just a team thing.”
Watts shared his thoughts on the team’s next game against the Wesmen. “Those are always good games. A lot of people come out. It’s nice [that it] can bring people from both sides of the city. We’re going to take this week and really game-plan, watch a lot of their film and be ready.”
The Bisons men’s basketball team will host the University of Winnipeg Wesmen on Friday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. CT at the Investors Group Athletic
Centre.
