Bisons men’s basketball athlete Mason Kraus said the team is focused on turning its season around. He added that the winter break will give the athletes time to come together and prepare for the remaining games in the new year.

“[There were] a lot of ups and downs, but I feel like we really struggled sometimes later in the season,” said Kraus. “We’re getting out of the way now. We’ll figure out what we need to work on […] going into the winter break, which is honestly a good time for us. It’ll give us enough time to reflect and figure out what we’ve got to fix.”

The Bisons guard mentioned some other expectations he believed will help the team win games while several players recover from injuries. For instance, he said the team is prepared for tough matches ahead. “I think we should be good. We’re going to have some tough games, but I think we’re ready for them. With myself getting back and some guys healing up from some injuries, I think we should be good.”

Bisons men’s basketball lead assistant coach Elijah Lostracco indicated the team will regroup after the break and use lessons from recent games to improve. “We’re five-five now and we start with the top two teams in our conference, so [getting] a little bit of rest over the Christmas break [is important to] regroup and come out of it better and learn from our first semester.”

Before the winter break, the Bisons recorded a 76-71 loss against the Winnipeg Wesmen on Dec. 5 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.

The Bisons men’s basketball team will play the Mount Royal Cougars on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 1:30 p.m. CT and Friday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. CT in Calgary, Alberta.