In their first home game of 2008, the Bisons (1-11) were looking to split the home-and-home series at the Investors Group Athletic Centre with the visiting, cross-town rival Winnipeg Wesmen (6-6), who drew first blood on January 3 with an 84-71 win.

In a hard fought battle on both sides, the Wesmen came out of Bison territory with a sweep over the Herd and an 80-73 win on Saturday night.

“We keep trying, and we can keep up with any team in the league,” said head coach Rick Suffield. “We just need to keep positive, and the wins will come.”

The Bisons started the game going on an 11-4 run led by strong play from captain Isaac Ansah, and forward Brian Crowe. The Wesmen were able to come back quickly midway through the opening quarter tying the game at 12. Stunned by the quick Wesmen attack, the Bisons kept their cool and dominated the remainder of the quarter, going into the second with a 23-16 lead.

The tempo slowed down from an intense opening frame to a more touch-and-go second quarter with both teams playing cautious games. With four minutes left to play in the half the Wesmen, led by Erfan Nasajpour, tied the game at 30.

Going into the break the Bisons held a tight 36-35 lead. Crowe had 11 points for the Heard at recess, while Nasajpour had 16 points and three steals in the first half, leading all players.

Tough defensive battles started the third quarter as the Wesmen took an early 40-36 second half lead. Minutes later the Herd regained the lead taking six straight points. The seesaw battle continued throughout the quarter as the teams traded points from beyond the arc on more than one occasion.

At the start of the fourth, the two teams were knotted-up at 57. Typical of the game to this point, the Wesmen and the Bisons went back and forth right down to the wire. With two minutes to go and the game, and 74-71 score in favor of the visiting Wesmen, the Bisons made one final push to spread the defence and find an opening. A travel violation by the Wesmen late gave the Herd an opportunity. It was an opportunity missed, as the Bisons couldn’t convert, and the rest of the game played itself out to an 80-73 victory for the Wesmen.

Erfan Nasajpour had 27 points in the game for the Wesmen while Isaac Ansah and Brian Crowe each had 17 for the Herd.

After the game Suffield offered some insight into the Bisons misleading record. “Our record doesn’t dictate how we can play. Unfortunately that doesn’t translate on paper, so we’re going to have to buckle down in this half of the season.”

The Bisons will continue the next weekend at home on January 11 and 12 with a pair of games versus the University of Saskatchewan and University of Alberta. Both Alberta and Saskatchewan are in the middle of the pack in the Mountain division. Both games start at 8:15 pm at the Investors Group athletic Centre.

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