Written by Jake McGrail/UBC Communications
VANCOUVER – In a game where they struggled to shoot from the outside, it was the inside game and the defence that powered the No. 5 seed Manitoba Bisons to a 79-68 win over the No. 12 seed Brandon Bobcats.
 
Trailing by two points entering the fourth, the Bisons erupted for a 14-2 run to start the final frame, turning a slim deficit into a sizable lead they did not relinquish.
 
"Our defence took over a bit in that fourth quarter," said Manitoba head coach Kirby Schepp. "We did a much better job communicating, pressuring, and they had a hard time getting clean looks."
 
Mason Kraus had a monstrous performance with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while also playing 39 minutes and taking on the extremely difficult assignment of guarding Sultan Haider-Bhatti for most of the second half. While the Brandon superstar did record a game-high 21 points to go with seven rebounds, he also was forced into eight turnovers.
 
"Mason might be the best two-way player in the country," added Schepp. "We ask a lot of him on a nightly basis, and it's playoff time. He's a competitor, and he wants that assignment."
 
Daren Watts dropped 19 points in support, and while Cieran O'Hara scored just three, the fifth-year forward pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds with eight of them coming on the offensive glass.
 
On the side of the Bobcats, Munroop Gill scored 13 points in his first career Canada West playoff game. Travis Hamberger had 12 points and four assists, while Youri Cange tallied 12 points, three assists and three steals.
 
Those three – plus Haider-Bhatti – all played at least 36 minutes, as the Brandon stars left it all out on the court.
 
Neither team could get it going from the outside in the first half of play, combining to shoot just 4-25 from beyond the arc. The Bisons instead found success attacking the basket early on, especially through Tito Obasoto who recorded nine points and four rebounds in just five minutes off the bench in the opening quarter.
 
Down by six about midway through the second, the Bobcats finally got their offence going as they erupted for an 11-0 run, capped by a deep Haider-Bhatti triple. Brandt Lenz answered back with a three-pointer from the corner (Manitoba's only three of the first half), which sparked a burst of 12 unanswered for the higher seed to end the half.
 
The third quarter is when Brandon shone brightest, as they outscored Manitoba 26-17 in the frame. Gill came alive with nine points including a sweet and-one finish, and the upset-minded Bobcats led by as many as four before the Bisons cut the score to 55-53 heading into the final frame.
 
As soon as the fourth quarter hit, all of a sudden it was the Bisons in control, as they forced the Bobcats into a series of turnovers and missed shots and punished them on the other end. A thunderous Ramogi Nyagudi dunk put the lead into double digits for the first time all night with six minutes to play, and the Bisons never looked back from there.