November 3 - After a nail-biting finish at the Duckworth Centre that saw theWinnipeg Wesmen (2-0) upset the visiting Manitoba Bisons (0-2) in the dying seconds of the game two nights before, the rematch between the two teams took place at the Investors Group Athletic Centre on Saturday night.

In the second game of conference play for both teams, The Wesmen took the sweep in the series, winning the game 72-60.

“Our energy just wasn’t there tonight,” said Bison head coach Rick Suffield. “It was a complete reversal from Thursday’s game.”

The Wesmen started the opening quarter right where they left off on Thursday, taking a five-point lead throughout the quarter. The Bisons were out muscled for most of the frame, but they managed to stick around by the end of the quarter with the score 14-11 in favor of the Wesmen.

In the next quarter the Wesmen began to pull away leading by as much as nine points. Winnipeg’s Nick Lother contributed eight of his 12 points in the second quarter. At the break the Wesmen held their nine-point lead, taking the half 32-23.

The Bisons top scorer in the half was forward, Brian Crowe, who had 10 points going in to recess.

After the break, Manitoba quickly brought the game to within five, but got into foul trouble just as fast. The two teams traded shots at the line with the Wesmen coming out on top in the third quarter extending their lead with two key three-pointers made by Lother for the Wesmen. Going into the final frame, the Wesmen were ahead 52-42.

With seven minute left to play, the Bisons brought the game to within two, going on a 10-2 run to start the quarter. Following the Bisons big tear to start the frame, the Wesmen went on an 11-2 run bringing the gap back to 11 points. Despite their best efforts, the Bisons couldn’t gain any ground, losing the game 72-60.

Player of the game honours went to Lother as he had 20 points and five assists, Wesmen guard Erfan Nasajpour was close behind with 12 points and five assists. Top Bison honours went to Brian Crowe who racked up 13 points of his own.

After the game, coach Suffield spoke about what his team will do to prepare for Brandon. “Every team goes to Brandon as an underdog, and we are no different.”

“We’ll adjust who we play where,” said Suffield. “The big thing is to keep the energy up to stay with whom ever the opposing team is.”

From here, the Bisons will head to Brandon to take on last year’s CIS gold medal finalists on November 9 and 10. Winnipeg is also on the road next week, taking on Regina.

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