The Bisons men’s basketball team defeated the Brandon University Bobcats 79-68 in the Canada West play-in round on Thursday, Feb. 12. The game was hosted by the University of British Columbia (UBC).
The Bobcats took an 11-7 lead at 6:24 in the first quarter. Tito Obasoto made a layup for the Bisons at 4:29 to tie the game 11-11. The Bisons then took a 20-13 lead with 54 seconds remaining, following Brandt Lenz’s jump shot. However, the first quarter ended with a 20-15 score after Sultan Haider-Bhatti made a free throw to add 2 points for the Bobcats.
At 7:40 in the second quarter, Daren Watts scored on a layup to give the Bisons a 24-18 advantage. Travis Hamberger made a layup for the Bobcats at 5:40 to level the game 24-24. Watts made a layup with 30 seconds left to push the Bisons ahead 36-29 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Watts made a layup at 7:35, assisted by Mason Kraus, giving the Bisons a 40-34 lead. Kraus made a three-point jump shot at 6:10 to push the score to 43-39. At 3:59, Haider-Bhatti made two free throws to give the Bobcats a 48-47 advantage. Munroop Gill made two free throws at 0:44, extending their lead 55-51. Taven Vigilance kept the Bisons within reach, as he scored on a layup with 33 seconds left, to cut the deficit 55-53.
In the fourth quarter, Obasoto hit a free throw at 8:22 to give the Bisons a 60-55 lead. At 3:30, Obasoto made two free throws to extend the advantage 70-58. Watts made two free throws at 0:34, pushing the lead to 78-68. Kraus made a free throw with 24 seconds remaining to secure the Bisons’ 79-68 victory.
On Friday, Feb. 13, the Bisons fell 77-69 to the UBC Thunderbirds in the Canada West quarterfinals.
Kraus made a tip-in at 8:54 in the first quarter, giving the Bisons a 4-0 lead. Gus Goerzen made a jump for the Thunderbirds at 7:17, tying the game 4-4. At 3:03, Obasoto made a layup, assisted by Manyang Tong, to level the game 10-10. Karan Aujla made a layup at 0:27, putting the Thunderbirds ahead 18-15.
At 6:48 in the second quarter, Nikola Guzina made a free throw to give the Thunderbirds a 28-17 advantage. Lenz made a free throw at 1:33 to cut the deficit 34-27. Tong made a free throw at 0:16 to bring the score to 36-28. The Thunderbirds ended the quarter with a 39-28 lead.
In the third quarter, Watts made a three-point jump shot at 9:00, bringing the score to 41-31. At 4:58, Raj Dhadda made a three-point jump to widen the Thunderbirds’ lead to 51-36. Watts scored on a layup at 1:07 to cut the deficit to 55-46. With 31 seconds left, Watts made a three-point jump shot to make it 57-49.
Kraus made a free throw at 8:21 in the fourth quarter to bring the score to 64-50. At 6:05, Obasoto made a jump shot to narrow the gap 65-60. Watts made a tip-in at 2:32, cutting the gap to 69-64. Kraus made a free throw at 0:43 to make the score 75-66. With five seconds remaining, Vigilance made a free throw for the Bisons but it was not enough as the Thunderbirds held on for a 77-69 win, securing a spot in the Canada West semifinals.
