Kamloops, B.C. - With a hard-fought 66-57 win over the host Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Saturday night the Brandon Bobcats booked their ticket back to the playoffs.

In the final regular season game of the year, the win secures a playoff spot, and according to the Canada West ratings performance index (RPI) the Bobcats sit tenth in conference standings and will head to Winnipeg to play the Manitoba Bisons in a one-game playoff on Friday, Feb. 9. Tip-off in that game is set for 7:30 p.m. at the U of M Investors Group Athletic Centre.

Saturday saw the Bobcats and WolfPack go toe-to-toe in the first quarter as a Tyvon Cooper buzzer-beater three ended the first tied 19-19. The 'Cats then took the lead in the second quarter and didn't look back.

Brandon was led by Jonathan Range's game-high 26 points, as the Harlem, New York product collected a double-double as well finishing with 10 boards in 38 minutes.

Cooper finished with 16 points and four rebounds while fellow guard Troy Grant added nine points in his first game back at Thompson Rivers where he played prior to joining the Bobcats.

Brandon also saw an impressive performance from Kobyn Jopp who played 29 hard minutes after centre John Paul fouled out. Jopp collected 11 rebounds and a block in helping the Bobcats end the regular season on a high-note.

This marks the second straight year the Bobcats have made the playoffs after hosting the WolfPack in a best of three quarterfinal series one year ago.

The winner of the one-game playoff between the Bobcats and Bisons will then move on to the Canada West quarterfinals the weekend of Feb. 17-18.

The Bobcats and Bisons split in two incredibly close and very entertaining games in the regular season. Back on November 24 Tyvon Cooper nailed a clutch three-pointer in overtime to give the Bobcats an 88-85 win before the Bisons answered back the next night with an 85-84 win.

The Bisons also won a pre-season contest between the two 87-60.