WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Bisons men's basketball team looked to shake off their first loss of the season in a Friday night matchup against the Brandon Bobcats at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.

They accomplished that and then some with a convincing 99-53 victory.

The statement win was the fourth of the conference season for Manitoba as they battle with Regina for top spot in the early East Division standings.

The Bisons came out firing early, as all but two players found the scoresheet in the opening frame. The highlight of the quarter was a 16-0 scoring run that gave the home team a double-digit lead. It was much of the same for Manitoba in the second quarter as they torched Brandon for three triples and led by 23 at the half.

Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp said it was the best start he's seen his team get off to this season. "I thought the quality of our shots was good, we played with energy and we played unselfish," Schepp said.

Manitoba officially declared the game a blowout early in the second half as they held Brandon to a mere five points for the entire third quarter. This total was by far the lowest the Bobcats have scored in a single quarter this season.

"It just wasn't our night," Brandon's assistant coach Brett Nohr said in a postgame interview. "One bad loss doesn't make you a bad team."

Manitoba was able to rest their starters for a majority of the fourth quarter and still managed to shoot an eye-popping 56.5% from the field.

The loss leaves Brandon still searching for their first win of the year, whereas the Bisons improved to 4-1. This was the first conference matchup between the teams since February 2020.

The Bobcats will look for revenge as the teams meet again Saturday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.