BRANDON – The Brandon Bobcats kept their playoff hopes alive following a hard-fought 79-68 victory over their longtime rivals the Manitoba Bisons in Canada West men's basketball action on Friday.
 
Brandon held a slim 18-17 advantage at the end of the first quarter, before grabbing major momentum in the second. The Bobcats caught fire with an 18-0 run to go up 34-17. Heading into halftime, Brandon was up 42-28.
 
In the third quarter, the Bobcats kept the Bisons at bay and led by 12 going into the fourth.
 
Manitoba mounted a comeback with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 65-62 with 6:03 remaining, but the Bobcats countered with a 10-0 offensive outburst of their own.
 
Balanced scoring was big for the Bobcats with four players reaching double digits. Tyvon Cooper led the charge with a game-high 21 points as Brandon kept pace in the chase for one of the conference's final playoff spots.
 
Earl Thompson Jr. and John Paul both provided double-doubles for BU with Thompson getting 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Paul provided 12 points and 13 boards.
 
Chris Stanhope rounded out the scoring with 11 points as Brandon boosted their record to 8-and-11.
 
Meanwhile, former Bobcat Ilarion Bonhomme was Manitoba's top scorer with 14 points as the Bisons slipped to 10-and-7.

Keith Omoerah added a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds as the U-of-M had their eight-game winning streak snapped.

The Bobcats will close out their regular season in a critical rematch with the Bisons on Saturday. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Healthy Living Centre.