By Brett Hopper

WINNIPEG – It was a must-win game on Saturday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre for the Manitoba Bisons (4-14) as they faced-off against the number three ranked Brandon Bobcats (16-2) in the rematch of this weekend series.  In the previous night’s action, the Bobcats ran through a sluggish Bison squad to take an 87-64 win.

Despite having a better effort than the previous night, the Bisons couldn’t pull out a win, losing 105-92.

“Obviously two losses this week is disappointing,” said Bisons head coach Rick Suffield. “I’m really proud of our guys regardless, we had more energy and did some things really well to stay in the game”

It was the Bisons taking to the Bobcats early in this one. Midway through the opening quarter, Manitoba had a five point lead. The Bobcats managed to claw back however, and going into the second quarter, they held a 20-15 lead.

The Cats were able to stretch their lead from there, going up by 9 early in the second. The two teams went back and forth from there, but it seemed as though Brandon would out-muscle Manitoba in some capacity on any given play. In the closing moments of the half, Brandon increased their lead by 13 after several missed opportunities by the Herd. At the end of the half, the score was 45-34 for the Bobcats.

There were two big players in the first half. Isaac Ansah had 13 points for the Herd, while Tarik Tokar had 11 for the Bobcats.

In the third, the Bisons were trying everything to get back in the game, and at one point the came within three points of tieing the game. But the Bobcats were able to contain the Herd going into the fourth.

With the score 71-79 for the Cats, Manitoba started to make another comeback starting the final quarter, and the intensity of the game began to mount. With the clock hovering around three minutes left, Brandon took a strangle hold on the game with a clutch three-ball, increasing their lead to 14 points. From there Brandon ran out the clock for the win.

“Tonight was a big improvement over Friday’s game,” said Suffield after the game. “We came so close to tying, and our hustle was up, and that’s all I can ask for against a team like Brandon.”

Next week, The Bisons will head out west to take on a pair of teams from Alberta. On Friday February 1, they’ll visit the Mountain Division Leaders, the University of Calgary, and on Saturday February 2, they’ll head to Lethbridge. Both games will start at 9:00 pm central time.