BRANDON – The Brandon University men's basketball team closed out the first-half of their Canada West season on a losing note on Saturday night.
 
The Bobcats dropped a 76-65 decision against the Fraser Valley Cascades at the Healthy Living Centre to head into the holiday break with a 3-and-7 record.
 
Fraser Valley had a 9-0 run that helped them finish the first quarter with a 20-13 advantage over the Bobcats.
 
The two sides battled back and forth in the second quarter and Brandon trailed 41-39 at the break.
 
In the third quarter, Brandon was down 48-41 with just over six minutes to go, before momentum shifted to their side. The Bobcats had an 11-4 run to make the game all square at 52-52 with 1:44 to play. The Cascades collected the final points of the quarter to push ahead by a slim margin of 56-52.
 
Fraser Valley built their advantage to as much as 11 in the fourth quarter, but the Bobcats cut down the deficit to 69-63 with 2:45 remaining. The Cascades had a strong final push as they outscored Brandon 7-2 down the stretch to seal up the road victory and earn the weekend split.
 
Manny Dulay delivered a game-high 21 points as Fraser Valley upped their record to 3-and-5.
 
Girece Kazumba was the top scorer for BU with 16 points, while Earl Thompson Jr. added a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Brandon and Fraser Valley will resume their conference schedules in 2017. The Cascades will start the second-half by hosting the MacEwan Griffins on January 6. The Bobcats return from the holiday break by beginning the second-half on the road against the Mount Royal Cougars.