WINNIPEG — After beating the Brandon Bobcats by 46 points on Friday, Bisons men's basketball were faced with a very different game on Saturday.
With the visitors hungry to get their first win, the two Prairie rivals went at each other throughout the game — trading runs as neither team led by more than nine points. Eventually, it was the Bisons who had the last spurt, making a 9-1 run midway through the fourth quarter to come out with a 79-72 win.
The victory improves the Bisons to 5-1 on the season while Brandon falls to 0-6.
After seeing every player on the roster score on Friday, Manitoba was forced to lean on their veterans in a tight game Saturday — led by fifth-year James Wagner.
Playing 29 minutes, Wagner had 19 points on an efficient 7-for-12 line while adding six boards, two assists and a steal. He did this while navigating foul trouble, as he sat for an extended third quarter stretch after picking up his third.
Wagner tied for a game-high of +12 with his fellow starter, first-year Mason Kraus. Kraus had some highlight moments in this game, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals and a thunderous fourth quarter block — snuffing out a Bobcats transition opportunity to cap the aforementioned 9-1 run.
Both teams came out red hot in the first quarter, shooting above 50% for the first nine minutes. It was Brandon who was able to maintain the electric offence a bit longer, though, as a three from Jahmaal Gardner put the visitors up 21-19.
The Bisons would answer early in the second. Kraus hit a pair of jumpers, the latter a three, to tie the game at 28. Shortly after, Manitoba would rip off a critical 12-2 run — capped with an exclamation point dunk by Keiran Zziwa in transition. The Bisons would get out and run at every opportunity during this stretch, as they rode their momentum into a halftime lead, 44-38.
In the third, Manitoba continued to take advantage of their size over the Bobcats, as their points in the paint advantage rose to 28-14 at one point — much credit to Wagner and Cam O'Hara, as the latter finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Still, Wagner picked up a third foul on a contentious backcourt play where he tangled with Bobcats star Anthony Tsegakele. Having to sit, the Bobcats jumped at the opportunity — rattling off an 11-1 run, which included a big three from Dominique Dennis. That left Manitoba nursing a two-point lead heading into the final frame.
Wagner would return, though, along the rest of the Bisons starters at the eight-minute mark. A noticeably more composed Manitoba team played from there, as they were able to hold the lead around five for most of the remainder. With 1:07 left, an O'Hara putback sealed the Bobcats' fate.
Brandon was led on Saturday by Tsegakele, the game's leading scorer, with 23 points. Gardner added 14.
Next up, the Bisons will finish the first half of the season on the road as they take on the Saskatchewan Huskies. Brandon will play host to the Winnipeg Wesmen.
