The Bisons men’s basketball team defeated Mount Royal University’s Cougars 86-77 on Thursday, Jan. 8.

The Cougars opened the game with a 5-0 lead at the 8:09 mark in the first quarter. Bisons forward Cieran O’Hara responded with a layup at 7:45 to make it 5-2. Daren Watts made a layup at 7:45, cutting the deficit to 5-4. At 6:28, Kole Scott hit a free throw for the Cougars to give them a 10-4 advantage. Jean-Nelson Pigoue made a layup for the Cougars at 6:15 to extend their lead to 12-4. At 6:13, Manyang Tong made a three-point jump shot for the Bisons, assisted by Mason Kraus, to reduce the deficit to 12-7. Tong added another three-point jump shot at 4:47, with an assist from Ramogi Nyagudi, to make the score 15-10. At 3:22, Taven Vigilance made a free throw to tie the game 16-16. Bisons guard Tito Obasoto made a free throw at 2:17 to level the game 20-20. At 0:05, Jacob McLellan scored on a layup for the Cougars to give them a 27-22 lead.

Watts hit two free throws at 8:18 in the second quarter to slash the deficit 27-24. At 4:42, Vigilance made a three-point jump shot to put the Bisons ahead 31-29. Obasoto followed with a tip-in at 3:59 to extend the lead to 33-29. Obasoto then made a layup at 3:27 as the score moved to 35-32. Jonam Kazadi closed the half with a layup at 0:32, keeping the Bisons in front 37-36 at the break.

McLellan opened the third quarter, scoring with a layup at 8:25, giving the Cougars a 39-37 advantage. Kuach Gajak made a layup at 8:04 to extend their advantage to 41-37. At 6:31, Nyagudi made a jump shot, assisted by Kraus, to cut the margin to 43-39. Gajak added another layup at 5:33, pushing the Cougars ahead 47-39. At 3:57, Watts brought the Bisons back with two free throws to tie the game 50-50. Watts added a layup at 0:43 to level the game 61-61, but Gajak made a layup at 0:28 to put the Cougars back in front, 63-61.

Kraus tied the game with a layup at the 9:24 mark in the fourth quarter, making it 63-63. Watts put the Bisons ahead with a layup at 8:31, then added a free throw at 8:19 to extend the lead to 66-63. At 6:22, Tong made a three-point jump shot, assisted by Brandt Lenz, to push the lead to 71-67. Watts made a three-point jump shot, assisted by Tong, at 2:44 as the Bisons pulled ahead 76-69. At 0:54, Lenz made a three-point jump shot, assisted by Tong, to make it 82-73. Samuel Jansen sealed the result with two free throws at 0:13, lifting the Bisons to victory, 86-77.

The Bisons carried their momentum straight into a second victory, defeating the Cougars 88-72 on Friday, Jan. 9.

At 8:03 in the first quarter, Watts scored on a layup to give the Bisons a 5-4 lead. The Cougars answered with an 11-8 lead after Sam Barnie made a three-point jump shot at 6:03. The Bisons tied the game 15-15 at 2:31 when Kraus hit a three-point jump shot, assisted by Obasoto. Scott then made a jump shot at 0:15 to give the Cougars a 21-19 lead at the end of the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Cougars extended their lead to 30-21 at 7:30, but Kraus hit a three-point jump shot, assisted by Watts, at 1:54 to tie the game 34-34. Kraus then added two free throws at 0:25, giving the Bisons a 42-38 lead going into the break.

At 5:13 in the third quarter, the Bisons widened their lead to 57-49 following a free throw from O’Hara. Watts added a layup at 1:29, pushing the advantage to 67-54.

Watts made a free throw at 5:00 in the fourth quarter, extending their advantage to 80-64. Watts made a tap-in at 3:46 to keep the Bisons ahead 82-67. At 1:19, O’Hara delivered a dunk, assisted by Kraus, to move the score to 88-70. Gajak made a layup for the Cougars at 0:46, but the Bisons held on for an 88-72 win.

The Bisons men’s basketball team will play the Alberta Golden Bears on Friday, Jan. 16 at 9 p.m. CT and Saturday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. CT in Edmonton, Alberta.