Lethbridge – In their opening game of the Canada West regular season, the Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball team used a big second half to down the visiting Brandon Bobcats 85-75.
 
After having a bye during the opening weekend of the season, the 'Horns scored 48 of their 85 points in the second half to overcome an eight point deficit with six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
 
The 'Horns move to 1-0 on the season, while the Bobcats fall to 0-3 on the season.
 
A balanced attack from the Pronghorns, with all five starters scoring double digits, propelled the 'Horns to the win. Brandon Brine led the way with 14 points, while Dejon Burdeaux, Rob Olson and Chris Maughan each chipped in with 13 apiece. Jared Baker rounded it out with 12 points of his own.
 
Bobcat D.J. Jordan led all game scorers with 27 points in the loss. Troy Grant picked up 16 points and Earl Thompson Jr picked up 11 points for the visitors.
 
While the Pronghorns found themselves facing some adversity early, the experienced 'Horns showed great composure and stayed with their process until they were able to come alive in the second half.
 
The Bobcats came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, hitting nine threes in the opening half and carried a 41-37 lead into the break. In the half, the Bobcats were 16 for 33 from the field, while the 'Horns were only 36.7% from the field and three for 10 from behind the arc.
 
After allowing the Bobcats to extend their lead to eight early into the third quarter, the 'Horns did not panic and by extending their pressure, the 'Horns were able to claw their way into the lead late in the third.
 
Riding the momentum of the third quarter, the 'Horns were able to build a double digit lead early into the fourth and hold on until the end, but the Bobcats did not make it easy on them.
 
With four minutes remaining, Grant hit a big three to cut the 'Horns lead to a manageable seven but the Bobcats continued inability to make free throws could not get them any closer. On the night, the Bobcats were 4 for 20 from the charity stripe.
 
The 'Horns and Bobcats will wrap up their weekend set tomorrow night; tip-off is set for 7:00pm and the game will be streamed live on www.canadawest.tv