January 11 - Friday night’s action at the Investors Group Athletic Centre saw the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies (7-6) taking on the Bisons (2-11) in their second straight week at home. Anyone who’s been following the Herd this season knows their weak record on paper isn’t any indicator of how well they’ve been playing as of late. Friday’s game was no different.

The biggest difference on the night however, was a Bison home win; the only part of the equation that’s been missing for the Bisons this season. The final score was 89-85.

“Finally, I get to talk about how positive we’ve been playing and put a win behind it,” said head coach Rick Suffield joking after the game. “We we’re loose out there tonight, and now we’ll take this confidence and play harder tomorrow.”

The home team found themselves trailing early, as the Huskies were dominant around the basket. Several key transitions later, however and the Bisons were leading by six points going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Bisons were making key buckets, and making it count at the line, increasing their lead in the early part of the frame. Miscues by the Huskies kept the Bisons up by six. The Bisons were trying everything from beyond the arc, but nothing would fall, allowing Saskatchewan to come back.

The Huskies’ Andrew Spagrud led all players with 13 points at the half. The Herd’s Clarence smith wasn’t to far behind with 11 of his own.

The game went into the third with the Bisons ahead by two, 47-45. Both teams were getting into foul trouble midway through the quarter, but the Bisons held their own. Led by captain, Darcy Coss, the Herd put a nice string of points together to increase their lead on the Huskies in the final minutes of the quarter.

Going into the final quarter the crowd was starting to buzz. A Bison home win was close. Leading by as much as 16 points, the Bisons fourth quarter became a see saw battle. In just over two minutes the Herd’s lead dwindled to just over five points. The two teams traded big 3-balls in the final minutes. Even though Saskatchewan put up a good fight, in the end, the Herd was too much, running out the clock, and getting their first home win since February 3, 2007.

Kyle Grant led all players with 30 points on the night for the Huskies, but the real story was the fact the Bisons had four players in double figures. Issac Ansah had 19 points, followed by Clarence Smith with 18, Coss had 17, and Brian Crowe cleaned up with 12 of his own.

Tomorrow, the Golden Bears come to town in the Bisons’ second game against Pacific Division teams in as many days. The game should prove to be a good one as the Bears are second in their division. Game time is 8:15 pm.

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